Manchester ranked among UK’s fastest growing city economies

Manchester is now one of the top three of fastest growing city economies in the UK, according to new figures.

The city recorded a faster output increase than Inner London during Q2 2016, according to law firm Irwin Mitchell’s latest UK Powerhouse report.

Manchester climbed into third place after recording a 2.5% year-on-year increase in output over the second quarter. In Q1, the city’s annual growth stood at 2.1%.

The report has attributed much of Manchester’s success to growth in sectors such as business services and valued the city’s economy at £16bn, up from £15.8bn in Q1.

Further, the UK Powerhouse report has predicted that the city’s economy will grow by 15.5% by 2026 and create as many as 27.5k new jobs.

Despite the strong growth figures, the report does predict that Manchester will continue to be outpaced by cities in the South East. London’s economy looks set to expand by 16.3%, while Milton Keynes and Cambridge will each have grown by 22%.

The chief executive of Irwin Mitchell’s business legal services team, Niall Baker, said: “There has been a significant amount of political uncertainty over the last couple of months so it is pleasing to see that there has been a recovery of growth rates in the North West region.

“What is perhaps more significant however is the lack of progress is tackling the divide between London and the North.”

He added: “The Northern Powerhouse initiative has now had the backing of Theresa May and it is vital that the Government refocuses its efforts in this area and ensures economic prosperity is shared fairly.”

First launched in October 2015, the UK Powerhouse report is produced with the Centre for Economic and Business Research. It provides an estimate of GVA and job creation within 38 of the UK’s biggest cities a year ahead of official government figures.