Rich-poor divide bigger than most cities

THE gap between rich and poor in Edinburgh is bigger than in most other UK cities, the Centre for Cities report concludes.

It found that while the Capital was well up the league table for average wages, the number of people in employment and the highly skilled, it was also seventh worst for inequality out of 63 cities.

The report measured the gap in how many people were on Jobseekers' Allowance in the richest and poorest neighbourhoods.

Centre for Cities analyst Paul Swinney said: "It shows that despite Edinburgh's very strong performance in the ten years before the recession, that prosperity was not necessarily shared equally."

The report said Edinburgh was third, behind Oxford and Cambridge, in its percentage of the working age population with "high" skills.

It ranked eighth for earnings, with an average weekly wage of 516.70.

Edinburgh's employment rate dropped by 5.9 per cent last year, more than any other top-ten city, but the Capital only slipped from second to third place in the league table, with an employment rate of 68.9 per cent.