Northern cities 'improve on jobs'

Half of the most improved cities in the UK for job growth are in the north of England, research shows.

However, the study of 56 cities and towns by the Centre for Cities found that the northern cities still have below average employment rates.

Doncaster and Sunderland still had employment rates "considerably" below the national average, but were among the most improved for new jobs.

Communities minister Hazel Blears said cities had improved in the past decade.

'More to be done'

"Where once the wrecking balls demolished the factories and warehouses in our city centres, today the cranes fill the skyline building the cities of the future.

"We all know there's more to be done, and issues like poverty to be tackled," she said.

"But let no-one fall into the trap of talking our cities down, or pretending things haven't improved in the past decade."

The report shows that, out of the top 10 improving cities - based on employment growth over 10 years - four are northern.

Doncaster ranked sixth, Sunderland seventh, Sheffield ninth and Warrington was the tenth most improved city.

However, employment rates for these northern cities were still considerably below the national average, the research suggested.

Inequalities

The centre looked at economic performance within cities as well as between cities and found "inequalities" across the UK, with some large areas known for their regeneration and new buildings being the most unequal.

It concluded that Manchester was the most unequal city in England, as "less than a mile from Manchester's new Piccadilly Station (and London's Canary Wharf), there are entrenched pockets of worklessness and underperforming housing markets".

Our biggest cities like Birmingham, Manchester and London are polarised within their own boundaries Dermot Finch Director of Centre for Cities

The Centre for Cities is an independent urban policy research unit that works to understand how and why economic growth and change takes place in Britain's cities.

The centre's director, Dermot Finch, said: "These figures show that it's less 'grim up north'.

"Cities like Warrington and Doncaster are on the up, but need to sustain this momentum over many years if they are going to catch up with the likes of York and Milton Keynes.

"Our biggest cities like Birmingham, Manchester and London are polarised within their own boundaries.

"They need to address the deep-rooted wealth inequalities on their own patch, by moving beyond constructing shiny new buildings if they are to continue to grow."

Population change

	Population 2006	Annual Growth Rate
Fastest growing
Oxford	149,100	1.40%
Milton Keynes	224,800	1.30%
Telford	161,900	1%
York	191,900	0.90%
Cambridge	117,900	0.90%
Swindon	186,600	0.80%
Southampton	347,600	0.70%
London	8,757,200	0.70%
Bristol	664,900	0.70%
Norwich	251,700	0.70%
Slowest growing
Grimsby	158,900	0.00%
Birmingham	2,293,500	0.00%
Stoke	363,500	-0.20%
Newcastle	807,000	-0.20%
Birkenhead	393,000	-0.30%
Glasgow	580,700	-0.30%
Hull	256,200	-0.30%
Liverpool	765,000	-0.30%
Sunderland	280,600	-0.40%
Belfast	267,400	-0.80%
Great Britain	58,845,700	0.40%
Source: Nomis