Belfast needs a bigger and more dynamic private sector to grow in the upturn
Date: 19/03/2009Belfast's economy needs a larger and more dynamic private sector to continue to grow in the upturn according to a new report, by the Centre for Cities.
With the peace process, the city has made great strides to adapt and grow in the wake of industrial decline. Political and economic stability over the past decade have brought investment and real benefits to the city, which now need to be sustained. Between 2001 and 2007 Greater Belfast added an extra 24,000 jobs to its economy. A third of these were from the public sector.
The city relies too heavily on its public sector for economic growth. This will leave the city exposed once the UK government starts to pull back on public spending. In 2007 the public sector provided up to 33% of jobs across Greater Belfast. UK wide, 20% of the workforce is employed in this sector.
To help encourage a more enterprising and outward looking private sector, boost jobs growth and best position Belfast for recovery:
- Belfast needs to be more entrepreneurial. There is currently a large and confusing array of initiatives to encourage private enterprise. Invest Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council and other partners will need to further streamline, signpost and coordinate these activities to help small businesses and would be-entrepreneurs access support.
- Belfast needs to market itself more strongly, selling its assets - a comparatively highly skilled population and low cost office space to attract business investment into the city.
- And longer term, Belfast's businesses will need to look beyond Northern Ireland to the UK, Republic and European Union - and establish trade links with outside markets, if they are to expand and drive the city's recovery.
Hannah Brown, Research Manager and the report author from the Centre for Cities said,
"Many cities think public-sector jobs cushion them from the worst effects of a recession. But as pressures on the public purse increase, the city's dependence on the public sector is likely to put a brake on the city's recovery.
"Growing Belfast's private sector will be challenging as redundancies start to rise and businesses go under. Belfast should aim to encourage entrepreneurship, business expansion and inward investment over the long term so that the city can to recover from recession and continue its economic renaissance."
Michael Browne, Chair of Development Committee at Belfast City Council said:
"Belfast is clearly not alone in facing the economic challenges that it does at present. However, as a council, we are committed to doing all that we can to address these short-term challenges while planning for sustained and sustainable growth in the longer-term."
For more information, please contact:
Rosamund
Taylor, Acting External Affairs
Manager
020 7803 4316 / 07876 175
426
r.taylor@centreforcities.org
Notes to editors:
Belfast: Tipping the Balance is available at www.centreforcities.org/belfast
Belfast is a Partner City in the Centre for Cities research programme ‘Unlocking City Potential and Sustaining City Growth. The programme works closely with a small group of cities (Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Hull, Sunderland, York) to inform economic development strategies and improve economic performance
On 26 January, the Centre for Cities launched Cities Outlook 2009. This report ranks the economic performance of 64 of the UK's largest cities and towns. A Belfast fact sheet is available upon request.
