Member Article

Greater Manchester economy back at pre-recession high

The August 2014 edition of the Manchester Monitor – a snapshot of Greater Manchester’s latest socio-economic indicators – paints a positive picture of the city region’s economy.

The most recent statistics show that:

Current prime rent for office space in the city centre of Manchester is £32 per sq.; a 6.7% increase from £30 per sq. ft. in Q1 2014. Rents have increased substantially more than other major UK cities and are now higher than in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Leeds.

Labour market performance is strengthening overall, although with 3% of its resident working age population claiming Jobseekers Allowance, the conurbation still lags behind North West (2.7%) and UK (2.4%) averages.

The conurbation’s average hotel occupancy rate for 2014 so far stands at a healthy 75% - one percentage point higher than the 2013 average of 74%.

House price rises are slowing down slightly, with an average house in Greater Manchester now costing £106,300 (as at July 2014).

John Holden, acting director of economic strategy for New Economy, said: “The data in the latest Manchester Monitor tallies with recent UK GDP figures that show the national economy has now returned to its pre-recession peak levels. Indeed there are positive signs across the board in Greater Manchester, which highlight the increased resilience of our economy.

“However, with productivity and wages still lagging we are not fully out of the woods yet. A particular area to monitor closely is the labour market which, although on the face of it is showing positive trends, masks some risk factors.

“In particular, the shift to the new Universal Credit is flattering Jobseeker’s Allowance figures by a few thousand claimants in Greater Manchester. The very large falls seen in JSA claimants – while very welcome and a good sign of the improving economy – need to be treated with some caution”.

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