Aberdeen and Edinburgh remain among top five UK cities in which to live and work -PwC

According to the latest 2015 Good Growth for Cities index, produced by PwC and think-tank, Demos, Glasgow has also performed well and continues to slowly move up the rankings.

Scotland’s biggest city hit 24th in the index, up from 25th in 2013/14 and 26th in 2012 and when compared to the 10 largest cities outside of London, was seen to outperform England’s core city peers of Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle, Birmingham and Liverpool.

Published today, the index measures the performance of 39 UK cities against a basket of 10 categories defined by the public and business as key to economic success and personal and family wellbeing.

Moving beyond a simple measure of GDP, the 10 factors evaluated include jobs, health, income and skills, work-life balance, house affordability, travel-to-work times, income equality and pollution.

The 2015 report says the scores for the majority of cities have improved on the 2014 outcomes as the effects of economic recovery, in particular rising employment and a return to growth in real earnings, are felt across the UK.

While the high-income, high-skilled and investment-friendly cities in the top five continue to move ahead of others in the index, suggesting that they have not only benefited more from recovery than other UK cities but possess enduring, structural and sustainable features, they are not impervious to the influence of global economic factors.

With the impact of lower oil prices slowly filtering through to the wider North-East business community, Aberdeen has seen its ranking fall from a high of 2nd place in 2013 and 2014 to 5th place.

Paul Brewer, PwC’s government and public sector lead in Scotland said: “While Aberdeen’s oil wealth has consistently influenced high scores in areas such as jobs, income and skills, the lower for longer oil price backdrop is beginning to chip away at that. It’s vital that Aberdeen future-proofs itself, extending its success beyond the life of North Sea oil exploration.

“As we’ve outlined in our Northern Lights and Opportunities in Adversity reports, there is real potential for the North-east to build on its exceptional skill base and reputation for innovation to create a world class decommissioning hub, or to focus on those transferable skills and encourage investment in other sectors such as renewables, food and drink or technology.

“With net investment in Scotland growing only as a result of the Scottish Government’s infrastructure programme, increased corporate investment will be essential if more jobs are to be created across a more diverse range of sectors in all of our city regions. Our city deals, as they progress into delivery, must act as a catalyst to private sector investment as well as boosting public investment if they are to achieve their objectives.”