The workforce in Glasgow is now one of the best educated in Britain according to a new report.

A survey of labour market trends in the city has found employment on the rise, unemployment falling and a substantial increase in the number of young people finding jobs.

It compares trends in the city to nine comparable cities in England and Wales known as the core cities. They include Newcastle upon Tyne, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham and Leeds.

The survey found employment has increased by almost 3% in the last year – the third largest rise of any of the other cities.

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Unemployment has decreased by 1.5% making it the third successive year it has fallen.

Youth employment has increased by more than 17% in the last year which is the largest increase of the UK's core cities.

Unemployment among young people has decreased by more than 15% over the same period, the biggest fall in the country giving Glasgow its lowest rate since the recession hit.

The study found almost half of the city's working age population have degrees. The rise of almost 14% since 2010 is the biggest in the core cities with only Bristol having a more educated workforce.

Researchers also discovered the percentage of adults with no qualification has decreased by more than 8% over the past five years.

A report to city councillors says: “The short and medium term trends analysed in the report highlight Glasgow's improving labour market conditions since exiting the most recent recession.

“Working age and youth labour market statistics have seen improvements across all indicators, which include increasing employment and educational attainment rates as well as decreasing unemployment.

“The data does however indicate that there are still significant long term challenges facing the Glasgow labour market.

“The improvements in Glasgow's labour market should not be solely attributed to the general economic recovery which has been evident across the UK core cities.

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“Glasgow City Council's employability programmes, such as the Glasgow Guarantee, have played a key role in improving the performances of the city's labour market.”

City council leader Frank McAveety welcomed the new jobs figures.

He said: “These are fantastic figures for Glasgow and confirm the city's economy is very much moving in the right direction.

“Our performance over the past few years in increasing employment in the city – especially for young people – is very welcome and a ringing endorsement of our economic strategy.

“These figures highlight that we are performing better than many of our competitor cities across the UK in terms of job creation and reducing unemployment and with the second highest level of graduates in the country, Glasgow's future is looking bright.”