Dundee’s employment level is at its highest level for more than 20 years it has been revealed.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) annual population survey showed last month that the employment level in the city is at 73.6%, up 9.8% since 2017.
Council Leader, Councillor John Alexander, hailed the news as a signal of how “ a bold and ambitious approach is delivering results”.
He said Dundee has often been identified as one of the cities in the UK with the lowest employment level, frequently featuring in the lower quartile in league tables.
Councillor Alexander said: “Over the last five years, we’ve made it our mission to create a strong foundation for business and jobs growth, coupled with our own significant investment plan of more than £350 million and our proactive work to attract jobs and investment.
“Despite the challenges, Dundee continues to make its presence felt with a renewed confidence.
“Through my role as Leader of the Council and Leader of the Scottish Cities Alliance, I’ve seen how that proactive and determined approach has opened doors for our city.
“I’ve had more meetings with businesses and investors in the last 3 years that at any time in the city’s history and that is real progress.”
Recent developments in the city - including the Waterfront Regeneration, the £300 million of investment through the Tay Cities Deal and the development of the former Michelin site into an innovation Parc - are all contributing to employment.
Mr Alexander added: “Being Leader of the Council for the last five years has been the biggest privilege of my life and our motivation has always been to improve outcomes, so these figures are encouraging.
“We’ve never shied away from the challenges the city faces but we have used those as our motivation for creating jobs.”
Dundee City Council has played an active role in shaping and creating the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc, Waterfront and Tay Cities Deal.
These efforts, according to Mr Alexander, are helping turn heads in the investor world.
He said: “I hope that this signals, in a very real way, that the efforts, ambitions and positive vision for the development of Dundee make a difference.
“There’s much more to come for our city and I will continue, at least until the election, to work hard to bring more jobs and investment in.
“I know and understand that the city has its detractors who haven’t always been convinced by our strategy but I hope that this shows that a bold and ambitious approach is delivering results.
“We are concentrating on delivering more jobs in our Port, at Michelin, by supporting our growing tech and life sciences sectors and of course, international projects such as EDEN.”
Beyond the direct investment and jobs creation, the council leader points to important interventions, led by the city which also have a positive impact, such as living wage accreditation.
Dundee became the UK’s very first living wage City and has spearheaded efforts to increase the numbers of employers paying the living wage.
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