LONDON - The British capital is forecast to create a total of 374,000 jobs between 2013 and 2018, or 1 in every 4 jobs created across the country, according to report released by City of London Corporation on Wednesday.

Strong recruitment in business services and the hospitality industry mean that London’s total employment is estimated to have grown by 3 percent in 2012, almost twice as fast as the British rate of 1.65 per cent, said the Economic Outlook for London, which is prepared by Oxford Economics. "The professional and administrative services will drive the jobs market during this period,” said the report. And this robust performance of the labour market also means that London’s total employment is estimated to have already risen above its pre-recession peak of 2008, whereas Britain is only expected to do so by 2014.

Driven by recruitment in the business services and information and communications sector, total employment in the so-called Square Mile grew by 3.7 per cent in 2012. The research forecasts a slowdown this year (0.8 per cent) before business and investment confidence recovers by 2014 - leading to total employment growth of 1.3 per cent. Data released by Office of National Statistics (ONS) on April 17 showed that, Britain’s unemployment rate rose to 7.9 per cent in the three month ending in February, with the number of people who were out of job increasing by 70,000 to 2.56 million.

Mark Boleat, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation, said:” London’s position as a world leading financial centre is crucial to driving jobs and growth across the UK. Although parts of the City are downscaling, other parts including professional services are expanding rapidly. This growth will help to fuel the future success of London  and the rest of the UK, which employs more than two-thirds of the financial and related professional services sector.”

Dmitriy Gruzinov, economist at Oxford Economics, added: “After growing by an estimated 1 per cent in 2012, we expect the London economy to remain relatively sluggish in 2013 as its financial services struggle as a result of the anticipated continued Euro-zone recession and general economic uncertainty. However, looking ahead we forecast financial services to bounce back in 2014 and together with business services drive the London economy, resulting in total GVA growth between 3 per cent and 4 per cent for the following five years.” XINHUA