Peterborough has emerged as the top city in Britain for small business employment, according to new research from small business lender, iwoca. The study, titled ‘Top 25 Towns & Cities for SME Jobs,’ uses data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to rank areas based on factors such as average wage, commute time, job density, house prices, and the growth of small businesses.
Peterborough secured the first place due to its short commute times and significant growth in small businesses.
Residents of Peterborough typically spend 17 minutes commuting, a stark contrast to the 40-minute average for Greater London.
Julia Nix, district manager for East Anglia Jobcentre Plus said: “The city also boasts the second-highest rate of SME growth in the UK, with a 19% increase in small businesses from 2018 to 2023.
“This impressive growth has propelled Peterborough from 19th place to the top of the list this year.”
Ms Nix revealed the news in her monthly round-up of employment news for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
She said one of the initiatives of Jobcentre Plus was to provide extra time with Jobcentre Plus work coaches to help more people into work.
Peterborough top town and city for small business employment Picture by Terry Harris.“Helping people achieve financial security through work remains the key focus for our jobcentre teams,” she said. “This tailored, individual support provides the foundation for people to build a better life for themselves and their family.
Jobcentres continue to work with employers to help fill the 889,000 vacancies available, which in turn contributes to growing the economy.
Locally activity includes support for jobseekers to secure summer jobs.
Ms Nix said: “We are also holding regular jobs fairs and work academies/ boot camps including a Jobs fair today at the Town Hall.
“Importantly parents on Universal Credit can receive help with childcare payments. Jobseekers can search our DWP ‘FindaJob’ website, to check out the thousands of jobs on offer.”
Fact file
East of England
The number of people employed is at 3.120 million – down 6,000 on the quarter and down 57,000 on the year.
The employment rate (aged 16-64) is at 75.5%, down 0.8%pts on the quarter and down 1.8%pts on the year.
The number of people unemployed is at 129,000 – up 12,000 on the quarter and down 21,000 on the year.
The unemployment rate is at 4.0%, up 0.4%pts on the quarter and down 0.5%pts on the year.
The number of people in non-working households is 347,000.
The next 50+ MOT group session will be delivered at Wisbech Jobcentre on 12th August.
A group session held at Wisbech Jobcentre.
It gives 50+ customers the opportunity to take stock, plan and prepare for the years ahead in terms of work/employability skills; health and wellbeing; retirement and finance.
New claimants to Universal Credit attend weekly Job Clubs for the first 13 weeks of their claim. These are delivered by 2 Work Coaches and cover a different topic each week including where to look and apply for jobs, CV’s, application forms, interview skills, provision, sector-based work academies, local labour market etc.
