JRF: cities should deliver more and better jobs

In a report, Job Creation for Inclusive Growth In Cities, issued to mark the first 100 days of the ‘metro mayors’ elected in May, it said more than five million people in the UK’s 12 largest cities either wanted to work, to work more hours or were trapped in low paid and insecure work.

It characterised these issues as a ‘more jobs gap’ affecting those prevented from working by barriers such as caring or disability, and a ‘better jobs gap’ affecting those earning less than the living wage or on insecure contracts.

Although the employment rate was the highest on record, the foundation found:

The JRF said city leaders should work with the government to devise local industrial strategies that seek to create demand that would in turn lead to the creation of more and better jobs.

Economist Dave Innes said: “Britain has enjoyed a jobs miracle and the national picture on jobs is good – more people are in work than ever before. But these figures show millions of people across our big cities are missing out on this success and there is still a long way to go.

“The priority for city leaders and the government is to use the industrial strategy to create the conditions for more and better jobs, and ensure people who have been left behind can find work.”

Local industrial strategies could raise labour demand in cities through measures such as business support, skills programmes, city fiscal policies, infrastructure and economic planning and strategy.

The report said neither demand- nor supply-side policies alone were likely to make a sufficient contribution to inclusive growth as city labour markets.

This was because cities were complex economic mechanisms affected by mismatches and failures on both the supply and demand sides and in the interactions of these.

Read Dave Innes’ blog on the city jobs gap here.