Cities with a low-skilled workforce will be hardest hit by the recession, according to an employment research body.
Think-tank The Work Foundation claims workforce skill determines how well cities survive the recession and is calling on the Government to intervene. Associate director Alexandra Jones said: ‘Skills – or the knowledge, qualifications and competencies of the workforce – drive the success of individuals and cities.’
Research focused on 12 cities across the UK – Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Chelmsford, Derby, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford and Swindon – published in a report Recession and Recovery: How UK cities can respond and drive the recovery.
Manufacturing centres such as Swindon have since seen significant increases in the number of residents claiming Job Seekers Allowance. Cities with a highly-skilled workforce like Cambridge, York and Oxford have fared better in terms of unemployment rates since the recession began.
Vice-chairman Will Hutton said: ‘Unless the Government acts to give cities the powers they need, areas with low or no skills face a struggling cycle of decline long beyond the recession, making it much harder to bounce back in the future.’
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