Bradford named the ‘most improved city’ in UK

BRADFORD HAS been named as the most improved city in Britain for jobs growth, skill levels and quality of life, a new report shows.

The Good Growth for Cities 2019 index, published by professional services giant PwC, showed that Bradford has experienced a large reduction in its unemployment rate, measured at 4.1 per cent in 2018 compared to 10 per cent in 2015.

The West Yorkshire city had also seen improvements in skills amongst the adult population, work-life balance, health and environment.

The PwC document also had good news for Hull which was named as having been home to good growth in income distribution and job creation.

As a whole, cities in Yorkshire and the North East performed well on house price to earnings, where all nine cities score above the national average.

In terms of transport, every city bar Sheffield scored above the national average.

West Yorkshire is the only Combined Authority in the region to score above the national average, ranking fourth overall nationally and seeing the largest increase in its absolute score.

Of the LEPs in the region only York, North Yorkshire and East Ridings score above the national average and ranks eighth out of 38 LEP areas.

Will Richardson, PwC’s Leeds office senior partner, said: “The fact that Bradford has improved so much in this year’s index is testament to the rich vein of talent and skills the city has to offer employers overlaid with the right leadership and increasingly collaborative key stakeholder group.

“Bradford is one of the largest cities in the UK, and the youngest city, offering a large and talented

workforce that has so much to offer not just Northern Powerhouse growth but the UK’s economic growth too.”

Earlier this year, PwC invested in a new Assurance Centre in Bradford which is already employing 135 members of staff.

Bradford Council chief executive, Kersten England, said: “We are delighted to be rated as the most improved city in this year’s Good Growth Index.

“This is in part recognition of our employment growth and the great quality of life in the district.

“This has come during a great year where there are many positives to point to – from great national businesses investing in the district such as the NEC and Channel 4 to our strong local businesses such as the growing EXA Networks in the IT sector and expanding high-tech engineering businesses such as Global Precision Engineering in Keighley.”