Birmingham’s employment growth is expected to be in the top 10 across UK cities in the three months following the UK’s scheduled date for leaving the EU, according to a new report.
The UK Powerhouse study by law firm and Manufacturing Advisory Service sponsor, Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), says that Birmingham’s year-on-year employment growth in Q2 2019 will reach 1.6%.
According to the league table, Coventry is in 34th position with a 0.7% growth in jobs whilst Wolverhampton’s 0.1% increase puts it down in 43rd place.
Despite the relatively strong performance in terms of employment, Birmingham’s annual GVA is forecast to fall from 2.1% in Q2 2018 to 1.1% in Q2 2019.
The report commends Birmingham’s efforts in pursuing a policy to reduce youth unemployment. The city secured funding from the EU for a Youth Employment Initiative in 2016, which has been supporting the rate of employment growth recently. However, support from the EU will end when the UK leaves the EU next year.
It has also raised a number of other concerns for the future, stating the difficulties that are expected to be faced by the automotive sector could hit the Midlands region hard and eventually see a shift in migration towards London and the South.
Chris Rawstron, partner at Irwin Mitchell in Birmingham, said: “The overall impacts of Brexit on the West Midlands in the long term prove difficult to measure without clear guidelines and a deal in place.
“The UK will ultimately be responsible for managing and securing its own trade deals and though there are clear opportunities, these will have to be balanced alongside the short term risks which will be realised shortly after the UK’s official departure.
“One thing that the last decade has taught us is that despite the hugely disruptive force of the financial crisis, the UK economy has been incredibly resilient. It is vital that we tackle the challenges head on and take advantage of the new opportunities that emerge.
“The UK is a global powerhouse and the Midlands region plays a big role in this. We need to stay positive and work together to ensure this remains to be the case.”
