This is Leicestershire -- Leicester is the region's best performing city according to a new report into economic performance and quality of life. The city outperformed neighbours such as Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham and Birmingham in the 2013 Good Growth for Cities index produced by accountancy firm PwC and the Demos think tank. As well as topping the regional table, Leicester came 11th overall in the national list of 39 of the largest UK cities thanks to a high ranking in areas such as health, the range of businesses here and average income. The study also took into account things like jobs, work/life balance, house prices compared to earnings, transport, skills and environment While Leicester was the UK's 11th highest ranking city, Birmingham came 32nd and London was ranked at 36. Reading and Bracknell were the highest placed area, followed by Aberdeen in second place. Mark Smith is regional chairman at PwC in the Midlands, overseeing its offices in Birmingham, Castle Donington and Milton Keynes. He said: "It's good to see the Midlands performing so strongly as a region, especially in terms of housing and transport infrastructure, and quality of life indicators such as health and work/life balance. "While recent figures have shown that unemployment has fallen across the region, there needs to be a continued emphasis on innovation to drive productivity and create new jobs, as well as skills to match individuals better to the opportunities available, particularly the 16-24 year olds – the cohort with highest unemployment rate."
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