North West jobs growth outstrips national average

Over 100k jobs have been created in the North West since the beginning of the recession, according to new data.

Job figures in NatWest’s latest Regional Economic Tracker have revealed that the total number of people employed in the region grew by 2.7% in the year ending September 2015, compared to a national average of 1.9%.

The areas of the North West with the highest levels of jobs growth were Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, at 21%, Pendle at 18% and Allerdale in Cumbria at 13%.

The total number of 16 to 24 year olds in employment was found to have risen by 4% in the 12 months to September. However, in comparison to figures from before the economic downturn, the number of young people in the North West in employment is down by 7%.

One senior economist with NatWest, Sebastian Burnside, commented: “The North West has been climbing the job growth leader board recently and now sits in third place at 2.7% in the year to Q3 2015.

“That comfortably beats the UK wide figure of 1.9% and helps compensate for a relatively weak 2014.”

The Regional Economic Tracker research analyses employment statistics across 12 UK regions to highlight the areas with the fastest rates of job growth.

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