South Coast: Report predicts bright future for Southampton, Portsmouth and Bournemouth
Southampton, Portsmouth and Bournemouth are all expected to enjoy a strong economic performance in the next few years, according to a report which also predicted that the latter will set the standard for employment growth in the UK across the next decade.
The UK Powerhouse study is produced by Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) and provides an estimate of GVA* growth and job creation within 45 of the UK’s largest cities 12 months ahead of the Government’s official figures.
Published this month, the latest report revealed that Southampton and Portsmouth are expected to be among the top 10 best performing city economies in the UK both by the end of this year and by Q4 2028. In addition, Bournemouth is expected to rise to 11th in terms of GVA growth by Q4 2018.
In terms of employment growth, Bournemouth’s annual rate of 1.4% in Q4 2017 was the best recorded in any UK city across the period and well above the overall average of 0.6%. The city is also expected to remain the strongest performer in terms of employment across the next decade.
Hannah Clipston, partner at Irwin Mitchell in Southampton, said: “This latest report has provided some very good news in relation to the south in general, with all of the region’s major cities expected to enjoy growth across the coming years.
“Bournemouth is known to have the highest share of the population aged 65 or over out of all of the cities in the UK and its strong performance in terms of employment can be linked to this demographic increasing its engagement in the workforce.
“As the report highlights, this trend is expected to continue and could well prove key to the city maintaining its strong performance for many years to come.”
*Gross value added
