BOSSES in Warrington have welcomed a new report which paints an "upbeat and positive" view of business in the town.

More and more businesses are flocking to the town, and workers are among the highest paid in the North West according to the fourth edition of the Warrington Labour Market Review, which is produced quarterly by the borough council.

The upbeat tone of the report comes hot on the heels of the Warrington Property Review, which in May named the town as the best performing in the North West, with investment of £100million in 1998 and an annual output of almost £2billion.

The new report also details the average earnings of workers in the town. In 1998 the average gross earnings of full time employees was £370.60 a week. Men earn a lot more than women, at £415 a week against £281.80.

Male non manual employees - white collar workers - were the highest earners in Warrington at £468.20 per week on average, compared to male blue collar workers who get £323.50.

However, although these figures compare favourably with other figures - the average adult hourly rate is £9.25, against £8.69 in the North West and £9.54 nationally - wages only increased by half a per cent between 1997 and 1998, against a national figure of 4.5 per cent.

Figures for low pay also compare favourably with elsewhere in the country. 10 per cent of the workforce earned less than £179.70 per week, against £176.30 in the North West and £182.30 nationally.

Employment in the town is mainly office based, with the highest number of jobs in clerical and secretarial (16.8 per cent) and management and administration (15.4 per cent).

The unemployment rate for the town is five per cent, one per cent below that for the North West. But claimant rates in the town are starting to rise again.

Chief Executive of the Warrington Chamber of Commerce Colin Daniels said that he thought the report was very "upbeat and positive". He added: "It's a very good survey in every respect. On the basis of the report it looks like the problems we thought we would have with the economy haven't materialised."

And Chairman of the borough's Trade and Enterprise Panel Albert Clemow said: "We are working extremely hard to promote Warrington and things are going very well at the moment. We are looking at bringing more new companies into Warrington, because if you sit back you tend to slide backwards. Warrington is being promoted left, right and centre."

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