Here at FutureLearn, we’re passionate about helping people achieve their professional goals – so we closely follow the jobs market and which cities are most attractive to top professional talent. When we began researching the best cities for jobs earlier this year, we found that it was a challenge to find up to date information about each economy. COVID-19 impacted unemployment rates and the financial health of cities at an unprecedented rate, so reported figures changed dramatically week to week.
As a result, we’ve updated our study that originally benchmarked 100 global cities to include a live feed with data on the economic impact of COVID in each city. The Latest Reported Unemployment Rate and COVID-19 Estimated Impact on Economy will be updated on a weekly basis. This study is here to offer transparency on the true economic impact of the coronavirus, and also to offer hope and insight into the best cities for jobs in 2020 as people start to rebuilt their lives.
To conduct the original study, we first determined a list of 100 cities around the globe which are renowned for their economic, educational, and aspirational opportunities. Whether a city has a strong economic position is an important indicator of its job opportunities, so we collected data relating to pre-coronavirus GDP growth rate, as well as the number of new startups, to illustrate if a city is a hub for innovation.
These statistics were then compared with the current unemployment rate versus joblessness this time last year, to help determine the pandemic’s impact on the job market. Next we looked at the government’s response to COVID-19 in terms of the support offered to businesses, such as loans and financial help (to both individuals and companies) and plans set in place to help ailing industries.
This section of the study was complemented with polls asking those in lockdown around the world to rate the adequacy of their government’s response to the crisis, and how the crisis has impacted their employment status.
Governmental policies were analysed next, focusing on workers’ rights, parental leave laws, governmental efficacy, and immigration statistics and sentiment. While the economy and government play a large role in what makes a city good for work, job-seekers must also consider quality of life, so we gathered data relating to health spending, cost of living, and average disposable income.
Finally, because we believe that a location can only be considered good for jobs if it caters to all people equally, we included statistics on the gender wage gap, gender equality and legislation, and women’s opportunities for career progression. The final index paints a picture of those cities which not only excelled in job offerings pre-coronavirus, but also those where the response to the pandemic has meant that their economy can continue to thrive in these uncertain times.
