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news opinion
Employment levels are rising markedly with almost one in five companies in the South East hiring additional workers since the New Year
The increased staffing levels are necessary because order books are growing significantly with a large number of companies in the region reporting a backlog of work.
Efforts to shift this backlog will presumably lead to further rises in employment levels in the months ahead. Very good news indeed.
In some areas, such as Oxfordshire, there is almost full employment. There is a sense of excitement and anticipation in this county as a number of government initiatives, plus some private-sector support, have fuelled recent growth, with much more to come.
As an example, Oxfordshire’s City Deal will see four innovation hubs
being built, creating 19,000 high-level jobs in science and technology, plus the added benefit of 31,400 construction jobs.
In Hampshire, the Solent LEP has a £2.4 billion strategic economic plan, called Transforming the Solent, with the marine and maritime sector a key target for investment.
There is a £1.4b investment plan up the M3 too. The Enterprise M3 LEP, which covers the northern end of the county plus parts of Surrey, is forming a public-private alliance to drive prosperity in the M3 corridor.
And in the Thames Valley, the strategic plan being submitted to government is aimed at delivering growth right through to 2021. The LEP believes that conservatively its plans will deliver an uplift in economic output (Gross Value Added) of some £700 million in 2020.
Altogether, the LEPs are doing good work. And the benefits to our economy are starting to become visible.
David Murray Publisher
Reading rated a top 10 euro city of the future
Reading has claimed a top 10 spot in the ‘European Cities and Regions of the Future 2014/15’ – a leading study conducted by The Financial Times’ fDi (Foreign Direct Investment) Intelligence Magazine.
London retained its position as the ‘European City of the Future’, while Nordrhein-Westfalen of Germany was named the top ‘European Region’.
Along with ranking 10th in the overall table, Reading also came second for ‘Small European City for Business Friendliness’, which considers factors such as the total number of companies in the high-tech industries, the number of jobs created, ease of doing business and credit ratings.
Andy Malone, sales director of Atlantis Property in Reading,
said: “These awards take data from a varied range of meaningful sources and it’s superb to see Reading recognised for being such a diverse and forward-thinking place to do business. The proximity to London and global transport hubs, a skilled workforce and the host of top international technology companies based here all give Reading great potential for continued growth.”
The fDi compiled a shortlist with data collected by its specialist online tools fDi Benchmarks and fDi Markets, as well as other sources, for 468 locations in five categories. An independent panel judged the final positions with this and other data supplied by locations.
Other awards for Reading included third position in the ‘Top 10 Small European Cities’, sixth in the ‘Small European Cities for Economic Potential’ and seventh for ‘Small European City for Foreign Direct Investment Strategy’.
Details:
www.fdiintelligence.com
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E.indd 1 THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – APRIL 2014 12/11/2013 16:12
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