Glasgow economy leads UK cities since lockdown.
On the eve of the second anniversary of the first UK lockdown, analysis of economic vitality across major UK cities shows that Glasgow has proved most resilient in the face of the pandemic.
The Evaluate|Locate economic vitality index shows that since the start of the first lockdown – March 23rd 2020 – Glasgow’s rating has risen by 12.2%. The next best performing cities were Liverpool and Southampton with rating rises of 7.3% and 4.9%.
Of the 15 key city economies analysed in the Evaluate|Locate Key Cities Tracker, London was ranked seventh and saw its rating fall by -0.7% during the past two years.
Adam Kirby, Head of Data & Insight at JPES Partners – which created the index – comments:
“Since the first lockdown Glasgow has led the UK in terms of overall economic vitality, driven in large part by the strength of many local businesses through the Covid era and a relatively resilient jobs market.
“Our new Key Cities Tracker illustrates stark differences between the post-pandemic fates of UK cities. It’s also beginning to highlight the next challenge – a cost of living crunch that is afflicting the whole country. But this too isn’t the same everywhere. We’ve seen earnings struggling to keep up with inflation in many locations during the past six months but less so in others such as Glasgow, Liverpool and Southampton.”
Working from postcode granularity upwards, Evaluate|Locate rates every location across the UK on the basis of 96 economic metrics which are grouped around business density; earnings; employment levels; average residential values; and population movements. Its data set and index dates back to January 2010.
Adam Kirby adds:
“Looking ahead, economic divergence will likely accelerate further. As the UK moves through this period of inflation, higher interest rates and the ramifications of conflict in Eastern Europe, the ability to assess economic vitality on a detailed locational basis will become increasingly important for a growing number of business sectors.”