News: Rotherham becoming more competitive

The UK Competitiveness Index, a measure of the competitiveness of UK regions and locations that has been running since 2000, shows significant improvements in the competitiveness of a number of the UK’s cities and urban areas, especially those located in northern regions, including Rotherham. Published by the Centre for International Competitiveness at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff, the index shows that Rotherham has a competitive index of 82.7 which puts it 363rd out of 407 localities (comparably Leeds has index of 99.5 and is 135th, Sheffield is 89.6 at 273rd). The index is derived from GVA, employment rates, skill levels, proportion of knowledge based businesses, business starts and business density. Since 2006, Rotherham has gone up 18 places, rising more than all other South Yorkshire areas (Doncaster up 13 to 376, Sheffield down 2 to 273 and Barnsley down 5 to 389). This is the fourth largest increase in Yorkshire & The Humber behind York (up 32), East Riding (up 30) and Wakefield (up 26).

Centre for International Competitiveness website

Rotherham