December Labour Market Update

Date: 14/12/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

This month’s labour market data contains many fewer surprises than the large deterioration revealed in last month’s figures.  

Investing in Growth Cities

Date: 12/12/2011
Author: Tom Bolton & Zach Wilcox

This report looks at the investment and economic potential for the private sector in the growth cities of the Greater South East of England.  

Strength from within: Supporting economic growth in Preston

Date: 12/12/2011
Author: Paul Swinney & Zach Wilcox

To support future economic growth, Preston should look to strengthen the appeal of the city centre to businesses.

Autumn statement, winter chill?

Date: 30/11/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

Paul Swinney's briefing on the implications of the Chancellor's statement for cities and economic growth in 2012.

Learning curve: Schooling and skills for future jobs

Date: 24/11/2011
Author: Paul Swinney & Naomi Clayton

One of the biggest challenges facing cities with struggling economies is to improve the “intermediate” skills profiles of their populations.  

November Labour Market Update

Date: 16/11/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

Young people made up the bulk of the increase in unemployment in the three months to September, with an extra 67,000 young people unemployed over the period.

A Taxing Journey

Date: 07/11/2011
Author: Zach Wilcox & Kieran Larkin

TIF is not the answer to local development challenges, but, if designed the right way, it can provide new opportunities for the UK’s cities to invest in their growth.

Cause célèbre or cause for concern? Local enterprise partnerships one year on

Date: 28/10/2011
Author: Tom Bolton & Ken Coupar

If LEPs are expected to drive the Government’s growth agenda, they need the tools to do so.  That means devolving further resources, powers and freedoms to capable LEPs and getting to grips with underperforming LEPs before it is too late.

Local Government Resource Review: Submission from the Centre for Cities

Date: 24/10/2011

Since the announcement of the LGRR consultation, the Centre for Cities has been an active researcher, collaborator and discussant about the proposed measures. Our research provides a well-rounded and thoughtful response to the LGRR consultation, as summarised here.

Capital gains: What does the Local Government Resource Review mean for London?

Date: 24/10/2011
Author: Kieran Larkin & Zach Wilcox

The LGRR has the potential to transform the way that local government finances are allocated in the future and opens up the opportunity for London local authorities to work together in a pan-London business rates pool.  

Advancing ambitions: Creating a sustainable economic future for Sheffield

Date: 17/10/2011
Author: Tom Bolton, Kieran Larkin & Paul Swinney

Sheffield needs to work to make the city more attractive to business and prioritise skills investment and university links.

Hidden potential: Supporting growth in Sunderland & England's other “mid-sized” cities

Date: 14/10/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

Despite strong city wide growth, some mid-sized cities suffer from weak urban cores, with subsequent negative impacts on the whole city economy.

October Labour Market Update

Date: 12/10/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

Unemployment jumped to 8.1 percent in the three months to August, the highest rate since July 1996 - casting further doubts on the recovery of the private sector in the UK.

From recession to recovery?

Date: 30/09/2011
Author: Rachel Smith

The latest BRES data reveals that just under 40 percent of cities experienced a net increase in total jobs from 2009 to 2010 indicating that the road to recovery in cities is a bumpy one. 

September Labour Market Update

Date: 14/09/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

Public sector job cuts now seem to be having an impact on the UK labour market.  Excluding employment as a result of this year’s census, employment in the public sector fell by 97,000 between March and June.  

Access all areas: Linking people to jobs

Date: 14/09/2011
Author: Naomi Clayton, Rachel Smith & Lena Tochtermann

Transport has a key role to play in helping overcome spatial mismatches between the places where lower skilled people live and where the jobs they seek are located. 

August Labour Market Update

Date: 18/08/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

A further 37,100 people claimed JSA over the last month, and the claimant count is now 0.3 percentage points higher this time last year.

Briefing: Business rates reform

Date: 31/07/2011
Author: Kieran Larkin

The Government has the opportunity to create a simple, strong, long-term financial incentive for growth. Eric Pickles has started out in the right direction, yet there still remains room for improvement.

Briefing: National Planning Policy Framework

Date: 29/07/2011
Author: Tom Bolton

A briefing note for cities, summarising the main points of the draft consultation document.

Room for improvement: Creating the financial incentives needed for economic growth

Date: 13/07/2011
Author: Kieran Larkin, Zach Wilcox & Christiana Gailey

With the right design, the NHB and LGRR can create financial incentives for growth that benefit Britain’s cities, and the UK economy as a whole.

July Labour Market Update

Date: 13/07/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

The number of people working part time because they could not get a full time job now stands at a record high of 1.25 million people.

Moving on up, moving on out?

Date: 06/07/2011
Author: Lena Tochtermann & Naomi Clayton

The geography of jobs is changing, and so is their nature.  Both of these trends make spatial mobility and qualifications and skills increasingly important at the lower-end of the labour market.

June Labour Market Update

Date: 16/06/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

There is a great deal of excitement about the fall in unemployment - 88,000 people in the three months to April – in the press on the back of June’s labour market statistics. 

Big shot or long shot? How elected mayors can help drive economic growth in England's cities

Date: 14/06/2011
Author: Paul Swinney, Rachel Smith & Kate Blatchford

Directly elected mayors, have the potential to overcome some of the key local governance challenges.

Sink or swim? What next for Local Enterprise Partnerships?

Date: 19/05/2011
Author: Tom Bolton

Time is short, and if LEPs aren’t demonstrating that they’re making a difference in the next 6 months, they’ll struggle to regain the business confidence that is crucial to making them work.

May Labour Market Update

Date: 18/05/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

Monthly Labour Market Briefing from Paul Swinney - the Coalition one year on

Starter for ten

Date: 05/05/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

With university fees increasing and the majority of universities set to charge the full £9,000, what does this mean for city economies? 

April Labour Market Update

Date: 13/04/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

Monthly Labour Market Briefing from Paul Swinney, with an overview of the Work Programme.

Briefing: It's the little things

Date: 25/03/2011
Author: Kieran Larkin

Three areas where the Budget will most impact cities: Enterprise Zones, planning and housing, and skills

Budget 2011: Submission from the Centre for Cities

Date: 21/03/2011

 The focus of our Budget subsmission is on transport, skills and support for struggling places.

The growth conundrum: The importance of cities to economic growth in the UK

Date: 20/03/2011

Certain cities are already the driving forces behind regional and national growth and policies that release the potential of these cities can drive UK prosperity.

March Labour Market Update

Date: 16/03/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

Monthly Labour Market Briefing from Paul Swinney, with analysis of the impact of the recession three years on.

Linked In: Realising Croydon’s potential now

Date: 07/03/2011
Author: Kimberley Mesken, Lena Tochtermann & Zach Wilcox

Strategies to grow and retain Croydon’s office based jobs need to build on its dual role in the London and South East economies and an understanding of the growth potential of the town.

What would Maggie do?

Date: 28/02/2011
Author: Kieran Larkin & Zach Wilcox

Why the Government’s policy on Enterprise Zones needs to be radically different to the failed policy of the 1980s.

February Labour Market Update

Date: 16/02/2011
Author: Paul Swinney

Monthly Labour Market Briefing from Paul Swinney, with a focus on youth unemployment.

Cities Outlook 2011

Date: 24/01/2011

Cities Outlook 2011 reveals the cities that are bouncing back strongest from the recession, and those that are likely to continue to struggle for some time.