Cities throughout the UK will be harder hit than they expect by the recession but most exposed are those outside the south-east with low employment rates and high numbers of residents with no qualifications, say the authors of a new report published on Monday.

Even some of the country’s most affluent cities are vulnerable to recession, warn the researchers. On a rating of red, amber and green, a number of cities, including London, Edinburgh and Bristol, are ranked amber for exposure to the downturn, despite a very skilled local workforce, because of their high concentrations of banking, finance and insurance jobs.