Reading: Cities Outlook 2017 forecasts economic growth

Cities Outlook 2017, produced by Centre for Cities and the annual barometer of the economic performance of the UK’s top cities, continues to rank Reading as one of the most dynamic for business growth, skills and wages in the country.

Reading again ranks in second place to London for the economic contribution per worker, average workplace wages and the number of businesses per capita. Reading also perform strongly for innovation, business start-ups, employment levels and qualifications. 

However, the report also highlights some of the problems challenging Reading in a strong economy. It ranks as fourth least-equal city in the UK, after Oxford, Cambridge and London. Rising house prices and housing affordability are cited as part of the issue.

The report is the annual health-check of the economic performance of the United Kingdom’s 63 largest cities. It defines Reading as the Greater Reading area which includes Wokingham, and it includes statistics about the levels of innovation, levels of employment, earnings and skill levels in the workforce as well as housing, population and the environment. 

The report also looks at the future of the economy, focusing on the export capabilities of the core cities, most especially in a post-EU Britain. Reading is named as one of the top twelve for exports per job and productivity, putting it in a good position to maintain an economic lead come Brexit. This is because it has one of the smallest shares of exports to the EU (40%) but strong exports to China, the USA and Africa.

Nigel Horton-Baker, executive director of Reading UK CIC, the economic development company for Reading, said: “We are proud of our potential to be a leading post-Brexit economy. The challenges for Reading remain, however, particularly the inequality in some parts of our community. That’s why we are working with business and public sector partners to make sure more of our residents will benefit from the Reading economic success story. A great example of this is our recently completed three-year City Deal with central government, which helped us deliver nearly 100 apprenticeships, full time work for 340 and employment support for over a thousand young people.”