Cities dependent on the public sector

Many UK cities are heavily dependent on public sector jobs and therefore at risk of a major downturn when government spending cutbacks start in earnest. This is the view of a new report from the Centre for Cities which urges greater private sector involvement to boost enterprise and innovation and job creation in cities such as Swansea, Hastings, Ipswich, Barnsley, Newcastle, Liverpool, Blackpool and Newport. A high ratio of public to private sector jobs has cushioned the impact of the current recession but this is unsustainable.

“Public sector expansion helped boost the economic performance of UK cities during the boom years. 69 percent of the 1.2 million jobs added to city economies between 1998 and 2007 were public sector positions. One in four jobs in urban areas is now in public service”

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