Hull Tops List Of UK Cities With Lowest Wages & Highest Welfare
That's according to new research by Centre for Cities.
Hull has topped a list of UK cities with the lowest wages and highest levels of welfare.
That's despite 1 million jobs being created nationally since 2010.
The Centre for Cities report shows that regardless of the jobs boom between 2010-14 – with cities accounting for around three quarters of new jobs created in this period – nearly half of UK cities are currently classified as having ‘low-wage, high-welfare’ economies.
In 2014, people living in Hull earned less than any other major UK city with an average weekly salary of £376.
Blackburn was second with an average weekly salary of £404.
Doncaster was the 10th worst place in the country with people there earning a weekly average of £431.
Meanwhile, Hull also topped the list with the highest levels of welfare spending. On average those receiving welfare payments in the city received over £3,700 between 2014/15.
Commenting on the findings of Cities Outlook 2016, Alexandra Jones, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities, said:
“Cities Outlook 2016 highlights the size of the challenge facing the Government in building a high-wage, low-welfare economy, and the importance of supporting and empowering UK cities in order to make that vision a reality.
“One of the most pressing issues is the need to tackle skills-gaps and improve schools attainment, especially in low-wage cities, to help those places attract businesses and jobs, and support more people to move into work, particularly in high-skill sectors. This should be a key part of the Government’s Northern Powerhouse initiative alongside investment in infrastructure, and a top priority for local leaders. For cities which have seen strong growth in wages and jobs, the focus should be on addressing housing shortages, to ensure that their success isn’t derailed by a lack of affordable homes.
“Cities also need more powers and incentives to boost jobs and wages. Giving places control over skills and welfare budgets, and allowing them to keep any savings made by reducing the welfare bill, would incentivise local leaders to invest in employment programmes that, if successful, would reduce people’s need for benefits payments. Further devolution would also enable local leaders to make spending decisions which better meet the needs of their communities and give them more incentives to drive economic growth.”
You can see the full report by clicking here: