THE latest look at how the UK’s cities are faring gives York a mixed report.

The city consistently does better than its Yorkshire rivals on issues such as employment, earnings, the qualifications of its workforce, and the sense of well-being of its people, according to the Centre for Cities report.

In some areas we are competing well nationally, too.

Earnings in York lag behind the national average. But employment levels are above average, we have some of the lowest levels of inequality in the country, and York ranks fourth nationally in terms of how satisfied people feel.

More intriguing is a statistic which reveals the city has more people than anywhere outside London working for businesses with their headquarters in the capital. This suggests successful national and international companies based in London may be looking to York to set up branch offices: a clear sign of faith in the city’s economic infrastructure and future.

There are areas where York needs to do better, however. We are in the bottom ten cities for both private sector jobs growth and superfast broadband penetration.

Those last two may be connected. Fast, efficient broadband is surely the key to enabling cities outside the capital to remain in touch and to compete in a fast-paced world.

With the help of Whitehall and European funding, there are moves afoot to bring superfast broadband to much of York and North Yorkshire by the end of 2014.

That can’t come soon enough.

With traditional manufacturing in York declining, we cannot afford to lag behind in the broadband connectivity which will help make this city even more attractive to new businesses in other sectors.