Halle and Magdeburg make slight gains in city rankings
Halle and Magdeburg have improved slightly in a comparison of 71 major cities in Germany. In the city ranking compiled by the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW) in Cologne, Halle and Magdeburg came in 50th and 51st place, which means that although they improved slightly, they are at the bottom of the nationwide rankings.
On behalf of the internet portal Immoscout24, "Wirtschaftswoche" and IW Consult, the experts examined the 71 independent cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants nationwide for various factors such as economy, dynamism, quality of life and real estate market for the city ranking. As in previous years, Munich is at the top of the ranking, followed by Mainz. The success of the coronavirus vaccine manufacturer Biontech plays a decisive role there. Among the central German cities, Jena, Dresden, Leipzig and Erfurt are ahead of the two cities from Saxony-Anhalt. Halle and Magdeburg are roughly on a par with Remscheid, Krefeld and Kaiserslautern. Cities such as Dortmund, Bochum and Saarbrücken fared worse.
Last year, Halle was still one of the most dynamic cities in the country. This year, however, the city on the Saale fell from fifth to 31st place. Both cities are also in the bottom third of the rankings when it comes to sustainability.
The state capital received good ratings for the nursery rate for under-3-year-olds and the employment rate for women, among other things. Here Magdeburg was in the top 5 nationwide. However, Magdeburg scored particularly poorly in terms of the high rate of school leavers without a secondary school leaving certificate and the employment trend. Halle, on the other hand, scored well with low youth unemployment and old-age poverty. According to the data, however, the tax capacity and the development of start-ups were poor.
According to the data, almost a third of Germany's population - almost 26.6 million people - live in the 71 major cities surveyed. These municipalities are the place of work for around 17.6 million employees. Accordingly, a considerable amount of prosperity is generated in the cities. At the same time, according to the experts, the municipalities provide impetus for innovation.
Despite their slight improvements, Halle and Magdeburg's economic situation in these major cities is still challenging, as they remain at the bottom of the nationwide rankings. The labor market in these municipalities also shows mixed results, with low youth unemployment in Halle but a high rate of school leavers without a secondary school leaving certificate in Magdeburg.
Source: www.dpa.com
