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Peterborough was ranked second highest area in the East of England
for economic output (gross domestic product per person) in the
period from 1995 to 2005 and was just outside the top 10 per cent of
all EU areas – ranked 124th out of 1,201 areas.
In
addition, 2007 figures reveal Peterborough has the third highest
knowledge-intensive service sector in the East of England and the
second highest share of employees in high and medium-high technology
manufacturing.
The report
predicts these factors – together with the region’s diverse economy
– mean the area should recover from the recession faster than other
parts of the UK. It suggests growth in the East of England could
peak at four per cent by 2013 compared with 3.5 per cent for the
rest of the country.
The
up-beat forecast comes in a report commissioned by the East of
England Development Agency (EEDA) from ECOTEC Research and
Consulting and Professor Robert Huggins from the University of Wales
Institute in Cardiff.
Its
findings have been welcomed by Councillor Gavin Elsey, Peterborough
City Council’s cabinet member for regional and business engagement.
He said: “This report carries a positive message for Peterborough’s
prospects and our growth plans.
“The
recession has hit manufacturing, construction and retail industries
particularly hard and caused increased unemployment in the
Peterborough area. However, this report suggests construction may
recover quickly and there could be strong jobs gains in business,
financial services, personal services, education, health and retail
later this year.
“The city
council and its partners are also working to improve the higher
level academic qualifications among Peterborough’s workers so that
it is better prepared to compete successful in world markets.”
The
‘International Insight’ report uses 23 measures of competitiveness
to compare the East of England with other international
world-leading regions. It says: ‘Although this has been a serious
recession, the region entered it in a better economic position than
many other UK regions’.
However,
it adds that lower than EU average participation in post-compulsory
education is an issue that needs to be addressed ‘if the East of
England is to continue to perform strongly against other comparative
world-leading regions’.
It further
says that low accessibility to major centres caused by poor
transport infrastructure in Norfolk and Peterborough is a further
cause for concern.
The
full report is available at
www.insighteast.org.uk.
It uses European Union ‘Nomenclature of Units for
Territorial Statistics’ measures to compare economic activity at
three levels – regional, sub-regional and county and unitary
authority areas.
February 2010 -
Peterborough UK Community Website
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