A new report published today has revealed the UK cities most exposed to the recession and those worst placed to ride out the loss of jobs and business.

The policy research unit Centre for Cities published its findings today showing that while the job losses in the financial sector in London dominated the headlines last year, it is the cities outside of the south-east which are likely to be worst hit.

Experts warn that with already high unemployment levels and high numbers of people with no qualifications Liverpool, Hull and Belfast could be exposed to hard times during the recession.

Last year over two-thirds of the cities with the largest increases in people on job seeker’s allowance were in the north of England, suggesting early job losses are being experienced amongst the more vulnerable workers.

Nearly a quarter of Belfast’s working population and over a fifth in Hull have no formal qualifications – making recovery more difficult, experts warn.

Major cities like Bristol, London and Edinburgh have strengths and weaknesses, they add.

The cities specialise in vulnerable financial services which are exposed to the recession, but are better placed to weather the economic storm – with stronger employment rates, diverse industries and highly skilled populations.

Those cities best placed in the current downturn include Cambridge, which has the second most highly qualified working residents in the country who earn the fourth highest salaries of any UK city.

Oxford has the highest proportion of ”knowledge intensive” employees of any England city, who crucially work for the type of innovative firms needed to “attract and foster to help recover from the recession, when the upturn comes”.

Dermot Finch, director of the Centre for Cities, said: “UK cities will be hit harder than they think by this recession. Nearly all say they are well-placed to weather the storm – but they can’t all be right. The recession will hit our cities in different ways – and some will be hit worse than others.

“Cities will lead us out of recession – but they can’t just rely on action from Whitehall. Each city needs its own front-line action plan, to keep jobs and retrain workers – and more powers over economic development.”