Liverpool named in top five performing cities for growth

PwC’s 2014 Good Growth for Cities study¹ indicates the city is heading in the right direction economically and socially.

The index looks at a number of issues such as jobs, health, income, skills, housing, transport and environment to assess Good Growth, meaning it is a more balanced measure than just jobs or GVA (Gross Value Added).

The data supports the Centre for Cities Monitor 2014² published earlier this year, which found that Liverpool had the fifth highest level of private sector jobs growth between 2010 and 2012.

The PwC study also shows that:

Liverpool has seen the fourth largest rise in income per head – ONS (Office for National Statistics) data supports this finding, with Liverpool workers earnings up 40.4 percent from 2002-2014 compared to the GB average of 33.6 percent. Earnings growth from 2012-2013 was 1.4 percent, twice the GB rate of 0.7 percent

Liverpool has seen the largest improvement in income equality – ONS earnings data reinforces these findings with the income gap between Liverpool’s residents and workers narrowing substantially over recent years. It now stands at £1,426 compared to £3,711 in Manchester

Liverpool is the second most improved city for private/public sector balance – reducing the city’s historic over-reliance on public sector employment. Private sector jobs now account for 74.1 percent of Liverpool’s total, up from 70.3 percent in 2009

Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “This is welcome news and shows that our mantra of Liverpool being open for business is starting to pay off.  We are working really hard every single day to attract new firms and investors to the city, as well as growing start-up businesses and encouraging entrepreneurs. We need to create the most business-friendly city in the UK, so that our city can be sustainable financially, and we can continue to provide services the people of Liverpool, despite the massive cuts in Government funding.

“We have had success over the last year in attracting firms such as H2 Energy, BAC Mono, BT and TNT Post. And just last week Seadrill, one of the world’s leading offshore deep-water drilling companies, chose Liverpool for its new global service centre, creating 90 high quality jobs.”

There is more good news for Liverpool in the latest ONS (Office for National Statistics) Business Demography report. It shows there were 2,250 business startups in Liverpool in 2013 – 48 percent more than the year before and ahead of the 28.6 percent increase nationally. It also found that the city’s business density increased by 5.1 percent compared to a GB average of 3.3 percent.

Mayor Anderson added: “We staged a hugely successful International Festival for Business which could create up to 6,000 jobs for Liverpool City Region over the next three years as a result of the deals that were signed, and Government has already committed funds for another festival in 2016.”

“Despite the challenges, there’s no doubt there are still a lot of good things happening in the city and we will keep working hard to push the fact around the world that Liverpool is a great place to live, work and invest.”

¹ The PwC report can be found at http://www.pwc.co.uk/government-public-sector/good-growth/index.jhtml

² The Centre for Cities Monitor 2014 report can be found at http://www.centreforcities.org/assets/files/2014/Cities_Outlook_2014.pdf