Little by little—Manchester is closing the output gap
From Inner City to Outer Districts: The Forces Shaping Manchester’s Economy
Greater Manchester has been the star performer of the UK economy since the global financial crisis. Significant growth in the knowledge economy, shifts in its industrial structure, and investment in transport and housing infrastructure have driven this performance. In fact, Manchester’s activity has been so strong that, alongside Inner London, the urban core has experienced the strongest employment growth of any major city in Europe since 2008.
Exceptional growth in knowledge-intensive business services jobs, an expansion of the city’s transport infrastructure, and high rates of housing delivery in central districts have all played vital roles in driving growth in Greater Manchester. This is particularly true in the city centre, which has experienced some of the strongest rates of employment and productivity growth nationwide.
Yet, despite the recent success, Greater Manchester has a significant way left to go to completely undo the effects of historical underinvestment, and to ensure that prosperity in the centre is reaching outer-regions. The recently announced Good Growth Fund is a step in the right direction, but further support and investment is needed to ensure Manchester can have the same gravitational growth effect on surrounding towns as London has.
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