Manchester and Liverpool’s creative and digital sectors are predicted to grow by more than 10% within the next five years, with 10.7% growth anticipated across the wider North West region.
Data from Oxford Economics, which features in Avison Young’s latest Manchester and Liverpool Outlook reports, shows that the creative and digital sectors are leading the way in both cities, with 11.8% and 10.1% growth expected over the next five years in Manchester and Liverpool, respectively.
Liverpool’s creative, digital and technology ecosystem has doubled in size since 2012, while Manchester has seen a 79% increase in creative and digital employment in the past 10 years.
Avison Young said new commercial and residential developments will now be needed to match the potential growth of these sectors.
Other sectors fuelling regional growth include health and life sciences, integral to both Liverpool and Manchester’s economies, and hospitality, which is expected to grow by almost 12% in Manchester and 9% in Liverpool by 2028.
Liverpool’s bright spot
The report acknowledges that, like the rest of the UK, growth in Liverpool will slow this year and the city may even see a contraction in its economy. However, the information and communication sector is forecast to grow by 1.5% in 2023, according to Oxford Economics.
A broader expansion in service industries will drive job growth of 3.3% in the city over the next five years, well ahead of the 2.6% predicted for the North West and just ahead of the 3.1% predicted for the UK as a whole.
“This points to a significant shift in the city’s labour market towards the knowledge services and hospitality sectors, which bodes well for offices and leisure property,” the report says.
Manchester to outperform UK growth
Oxford Economics forecast Manchester’s gross value added in the five years to 2028 would grow by 9%, compared with 6.2% in the North West and 6.9% in the UK. This continues the previous trend of Manchester outperforming the UK, thanks to robust growth in the services sector, particularly for knowledge industries and retailing.
Key areas tipped for growth in the next five years are: information and communication (11.8%), professional, scientific and technical (10.4%), accommodation and food (11.8%) and retail and wholesale (9.4%).
For the North West, the growth industries are expected to be information and communication (10.7%) and accommodation and food (7.8%).
Oxford Economics is forecasting jobs growth over the five years to 2028 at 6% for Manchester.
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