Member Article

Greater Manchester responsible for almost 40% of region’s business base

The latest Manchester Monitor – a monthly analytical snapshot of Greater Manchester’s economic wellbeing – emphasises the conurbation’s role as the North West of England’s regional business capital.

It finds that almost 40% of the North West’s business base consists of more than 93,000 companies based in Greater Manchester, according to latest figures available from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR).

The data also shows that business numbers in Greater Manchester grew modestly over the last year - by 0.7% (600 new businesses in the area) since 2012. This is broadly in-line with the UK trend of 0.6% growth.

The latest data available for Greater Manchester also shows:

Jobseeker numbers fell for the eight consecutive month, with 3,300 (4.5%) fewer people claiming Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) in October 2013 when compared with October 2012;

Greater Manchester house prices remain stagnant, with average prices at £103,638 in October 2013; Total volumes of crime have decreased by 6.0% annually; Conversely, there has been an increase in arson over the year – by 15.9%

Including additional data on hotel occupancy, airport passenger numbers, crime volumes and more, the December 2013 edition of the Manchester Monitor is produced by New Economy and is available to view here.

Dr Alexander Roy, head of research at New Economy, said: “With the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on its way, this is an important time for Greater Manchester’s policymakers, academics, leaders and business professionals to take stock of our economy and review its needs.

“Indeed the latest Manchester Monitor confirms that Greater Manchester is the engine for growth in the North of England. Whilst this is great news for the conurbation, it comes with a significant amount of responsibility.

“Greater Manchester is often cited as an exemplar model in terms of its leadership and strategy. Therefore we must not take this positioning for granted and continue to address the issues of concern for the conurbation – particularly, our long-term jobseekers claimants and maintaining long-term sustainable growth”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .