Nottingham worst hit by economic vitality slump across UK cities
- Nottingham records 10% annual drop in latest Q3 economic vitality rating
- Manchester and Aberdeen next worst hit – now alongside Swansea
- Belfast and Glasgow economies continue to prove resilient
- London beginning to reassert its strength as a relative economic shelter
Nottingham has seen the sharpest drop in its economic vitality rating as the cost of living crisis continues to bite across UK cities – and the threat of recession puts local economies on diverging paths.
The Midlands city now occupies last position in the latest Evaluate|Locate Key Cities Tracker which shows that the decline in economic vitality across 20 UK cities is now accelerating.
During the 12 months to the end of Q3 2022, Nottingham saw a -10% decline in its Economic Vitality Index (EVI). Manchester was the second worst-performing with a -9.6% drop followed by Aberdeen and Swansea which both fell by -8.4%.
By stark contrast and over the same period, Belfast and Glasgow continued to demonstrate their comparative economic resilience as their index ratings both declined by only -3.6%.
Having been arguably more severely impacted by the pandemic than any other UK city, London’s economic momentum is now reasserting itself. Economic vitality in the capital was down -4.4% year on year but this saw it move up three positions in the rankings, as others are now seeing more severe drops.
Created by JPES Partners, Evaluate|Locate rates every location across the UK – from postcode detail upwards – on the basis of 96 economic metrics which are grouped around business density; labour market conditions; average residential values; and population movements.
Adam Kirby, Head of Data & Insights at Evaluate|Locate, comments: “This is a sombre picture for jobs and prosperity as we head into the final quarter of the year. The speed with which economic vitality is declining across these 20 cities is clearly accelerating. And that’s even before we see the impact of the markets turmoil that followed the recent Budget and interest rate rises.
“Within that trend, economic vitality also continues to diverge across different UK locations. This latest analysis underlines that not all micro-economies are impacted to the same extent by the current stress of the domestic and international situation.”
EVALUATE|LOCATE KEY CITIES TRACKER Q3 2022
| UK Economic Vitality Index (EVI)* | ||||||
| Ranking position and movement since last quarter | City | EVI
2022 Q3 |
EVI
2021 Q3 |
12-month change | Change
Q2-Q3 2022 |
|
| 1= | +1 | Glasgow | 121.1 | 125.6 | -3.6% | -0.7% |
| 1= | (no change) | Belfast | 96.7 | 100.4 | -3.6% | -0.9% |
| 3 | +3 | Greater London | 204.7 | 214.1 | -4.4% | -0.6% |
| 4 | +2 | Cambridge | 149.5 | 158.2 | -5.5% | -0.7% |
| 5 | (no change) | Southampton | 125.7 | 133.4 | -5.8% | -0.9% |
| 6 | +2 | Cardiff | 104.4 | 111.1 | -6.0% | -0.4% |
| 7 | (no change) | Oxford | 146.8 | 156.7 | -6.3% | -1.1% |
| 8= | (no change) | Bristol | 127.3 | 136.3 | -6.7% | -1.3% |
| 8= | -5 | Sheffield | 91.2 | 97.7 | -6.7% | -1.3% |
| 10 | +2 | Leeds | 104.1 | 112.5 | -7.5% | -1.4% |
| 11= | +7 | Newcastle | 91.5 | 99.2 | -7.7% | -0.6% |
| 11= | +2 | Birmingham | 100.9 | 109.4 | -7.7% | -1.4% |
| 13 | -2 | Liverpool | 94.2 | 102.3 | -7.9% | -1.6% |
| 14 | -4 | Wolverhampton | 89.5 | 97.2 | -8.0% | -1.4% |
| 15 | -1 | Edinburgh | 128.7 | 140.2 | -8.2% | -2.4% |
| 16 | +3 | Hull | 80.8 | 88.1 | -8.3% | -0.2% |
| 17= | -1 | Swansea | 80.7 | 88.1 | -8.4% | -1.0% |
| 17= | +2 | Aberdeen | 110.6 | 120.8 | -8.4% | -1.9% |
| 19 | -1 | Manchester | 102.1 | 112.9 | -9.6% | -2.2% |
| 20 | -5 | Nottingham | 90.1 | 100.2 | -10.0% | -2.6% |