Top UK Councils by Employee Growth | 2022 Ranking
Lucy Wilson, 23 December 2022
In April this year, the Government launched the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) as part of its Levelling Up agenda. The UKSPF will invest £2.6b across the UK over the next three years, to support the Government’s wider objectives of: boosting productivity, pay, jobs and living standards through private sector growth; spreading opportunities and improving public services; restoring a sense of community and local pride; empowering local community leaders.
Local areas will be allocated varying amounts of funding, and councils are now starting to declare their plans. With huge regional disparities in the UK investment landscape, it will be interesting to see how these funds impact business growth at the local and regional level. In the meantime, let’s explore which ecosystems have grown the most in recent years.
Top councils for fast-growing companies in the UK
We’ve ranked the top 50 councils across the country by average employee growth in 2021. During the analysis, we looked at all active UK companies that had:
- Employee count filings for both 2020 and 2021
- Comparable accounting periods of 52 weeks in each of these years
- Reported a minimum of five employees in 2020
At the top of the ranking is Middlesbrough, followed by London councils Hackney and City of London… Did your local council make the list? Find out below.
| Local authority | Average employee growth (2020-2021) | |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Middlesbrough |
10.5% |
|
2 |
Hackney |
6.15% |
|
3 |
City of London |
5.89% |
|
4 |
Barnsley |
5.65% |
|
5 |
Isles of Scilly |
5.63% |
|
6 |
Cannock Chase |
5.49% |
|
7 |
Nottingham |
5.34% |
|
8 |
South Derbyshire |
5.25% |
|
9 |
Kirklees |
5.02% |
|
10 |
Chesterfield |
4.96% |
|
11 |
Milton Keynes |
4.80% |
|
12 |
Newham |
4.73% |
|
13 |
South Staffordshire |
4.58% |
|
14 |
Tower Hamlets |
4.42% |
|
15 |
Southwark |
4.35% |
|
16 |
Leicester |
4.02% |
|
17 |
Stoke-on-Trent |
3.94% |
|
18 |
Sutton |
3.79% |
|
19 |
Cherwell |
3.73% |
|
20 |
Fermanagh and Omagh |
3.65% |
|
21 |
Gloucester |
3.65% |
|
22 |
Midlothian |
3.54% |
|
23 |
Warrington |
3.52% |
|
24 |
Cambridge |
3.52% |
|
25 |
Hammersmith and Fulham |
3.46% |
|
26 |
North Tyneside |
3.41% |
|
27 |
Hyndburn |
3.35% |
|
28 |
Stirling |
3.35% |
|
29 |
Dumfries and Galloway |
3.35% |
|
30 |
Slough |
3.28% |
|
31 |
Redcar and Cleveland |
3.20% |
|
32 |
Worthing |
3.05% |
|
33 |
Ashfield |
3.02% |
|
34 |
West Lancashire |
3.00% |
|
35 |
Watford |
2.94% |
|
36 |
Torridge |
2.93% |
|
37 |
Rhondda Cynon Taf |
2.92% |
|
38 |
Test Valley |
2.89% |
|
39 |
East Devon |
2.88% |
|
40 |
City of Bristol |
2.86% |
|
41 |
Bromsgrove |
2.57% |
|
42 |
Sunderland |
2.51% |
|
43 |
Sheffield |
2.49% |
|
44 |
Peterborough |
2.49% |
|
45 |
Lambeth |
2.48% |
|
46 |
Cheshire West and Chester |
2.40% |
|
47 |
Chorley |
2.38% |
|
48 |
Epsom and Ewell |
2.37% |
|
49 |
Wigan |
2.37% |
|
50 |
Barking and Dagenham |
2.36% |
Want to explore the data behind this ranking? Beauhurst can help you identify the highest potential companies in your region—those that will be driving the majority of this employee growth. Book a demo below to learn more.
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