Source: CareerBuilder.co.uk
 

Edinburgh
Named as 'Best Place to Live' by Channel 4's Location, Location, Location and 'Favourite UK City' by The Guardian no less than 6 times, Edinburgh has the lowest rate (4.3 per cent) of unemployment of any of the top ten most populated cities in the UK. The Scottish capital and Britain's seventh largest city is one of the most cosmopolitan and dynamic cities in Europe and is regarded as the fourth largest financial centre in Europe.

Therefore, it is not surprising to learn that the biggest demands for jobs are in banking, financial and legal services plus support services such as administration, IT and communications.

Bristol
The Beijing Olympics kicked off on 08-08-08. Coincidence? Not really. As the HSBC advert reminds us, the number eight is considered lucky by the Chinese people. And closer to home, the same number is also proving to be fortunate for the seemingly unstoppable rise of the financial sector in England's eighth largest city, Bristol.

Home to such banking institutions as AXA and Bristol and West, Bristol is Europe's 22nd most prosperous city with only 5.1 per cent unemployment. Indeed, government data reveals more than half of Bristol's population falls within the social-economic categories of "wealthy achievers, the urban prosperous and comfortably off".

Leeds
Voted 'Britain's Best City for Business' by Omis Research in 2003, Leeds is considered by many as one of the fastest growing cities in the UK in stark contrast to the rapid demise of once-great Leeds United football team. Since the decline of the manufacturing industry that dominated the city's economy, Leeds has cut unemployment down to 5.7 per cent and successfully reinvented itself as a UK leader in three key areas.

First, it is now a major centre for the service industry, retail, call centres and the media. Second is the fact Leeds employs over 100,000 people within the financial sector -- the largest in the UK outside London. But most significant is its importance within the internet industry. Indeed, Leeds was at the centre of the dot-com bubble and today, more than one third of the UK's internet traffic passes through Leeds.

Sheffield
Some 42 miles to the south of Leeds is Sheffield -- a city whose dire unemployment during the post-steel era in the 1990's (which saw one in four people lose their job) was brought to fame by the hit film The Full Monty. But ten years on times have changed. Today, Sheffield has the fourth lowest unemployment rate of any of the UK's biggest cities at only 6.0 per cent. And a survey by Knight Frank revealed that Sheffield is the fastest growing city outside London.

Sheffield may produce more steel than ever in its history but, most of the work is automated and the industry employs significantly fewer people than it once did with around 14 per cent of the workforce employed in this sector. Today the biggest source of jobs is in the public sector, education and health where one in three people ply their trade. Indeed, Sheffield has become a major academic centre with the cities two universities attracting people from all, over the world. And approximately one fifth (17.9 per cent) of all workers are employed in the rapidly expanding hotel, retail and leisure industries. 

Cardiff
Britain's youngest capital city and arguably the most cosmopolitan city outside London, Cardiff's transformation in recent years has been nothing short of spectacular. The city's wealth was founded on the booming iron and coal industries during the 1800s and 1900s and Cardiff's port became one of the busiest in the world. However, the decline of these staple industries and the subsequent rise in unemployment forced the city to take a new direction. And that's exactly what it has done.

A multi-million pound redevelopment of the Bay area and the relative lower cost of living compared to other UK cities has encouraged many businesses to relocate from the ever-increasingly expensive south-east of England, which has helped to reduce the rate of unemployment to 6.5 per cent. And this has resulted in Cardiff becoming a significant legal centre and the UK's call-centre capital -- a position it shares with Glasgow. Indeed, the industry currently employs over 27,000 people within 140 centres throughout the city and surrounding area within the banking, telecoms, government agencies and finance sectors. And the industry is set to increase by 20 to 30 per cent over the next few years.