ALMOST one-in-12 jobs were lost in Newport during the decade to 2013, with the city among the UK's worst hit during that period in terms of employment, new figures reveal.

A report from the think tank Centre for Cities, examining the economic fortunes of the UK's 64 largest cities based on a range of government statistics, has Newport in 60th place having lost 8.6 per cent (6,500) of its jobs across the private and public sectors since 2004.

By far the bulk (6,200) have been in the private sector, according to the 2015 Cities Outlook report, the latter figure equating to an 11.8 per cent fall in that sector.

Some 1,200 private sector jobs were lost during 2012/13, significantly less than the 3,400 last year's report stated were lost during 2011/12, and overall, the fall has been largely a result of the economic downturn and recession since 2008.

But the figures suggest Newport has been hit harder by that downturn, and may be recovering more slowly. The report also shows that in the cities closest to Newport - Cardiff and Bristol - 800 and 1,000 private sector jobs respectively were created in 2012/13.

Newport also has a higher ratio of public to private sector jobs, at two private for every one public, than its neighbours, and the 16th highest of the cities analysed, and that greater reliance on the public sector might make overall jobs growth more challenging.

Overall, the report describes a widening gap between the UK's best and worst performing cities, with the creation since 2004 of a "two-tier economy of dynamism and decline."

It also reveals that national growth from 2004-13 was largely driven by a handful of cities mainly located in the south of England.

Newport remains a poor performer in terms of reliance of benefits, reflecting to a degree that challenging economic outlook.

The number of claimants rose by more than 1,000 (1.1 per cent) during 2008-13, the second highest increase of the 64 cities studied.

The Jobseekers' Allowance claimant count last November was 3,630 or 3.9 per cent of the potential workforce, the fourth highest.

The average weekly wage in Newport last year was £437, among the lowest quarter of the cities studied, and real wages fell £19 (4.5 per cent) from 2013, among the UK's biggest reductions.

There is room for improvement too, in the fields of business and innovation. Newport ranked 54th out of 64 in terms of business start-ups and business stock (both per 10,000 population) during 2013, and 44th in terms of patents per 100,000 population.

The city ranked a creditable 20th from 64 for high level qualifications (working age population with NVQ4 and above), but was also in the top half for working age population with no formal qualifications.

Though the city ranked second poorest for carbon dioxide emissions, it was among only three cities (along with Blackburn and Derby) to record an emissions decrease in 2012, the latest year for which figures are available.