Magic AM

Up to 8000 public sector jobs could go in Sheffield in the next few years. Thats the verdict of a new report on living and working in the Steel City.

The "State of Sheffield 2012" study, which is based on a collection of other reports, suggests the positions could go by 2014/15.

It found that the public sector was vulnerable to job losses in light of cuts in public spending. They estimate between 6000 and 8000 posts could go.

Council leader Julie Dore is Chair of the Sheffield Executive Board, which has commissioned the report:

"Because we are aware of these issues we can address them by working with our partners in the city to make sure Sheffield is resilient, and that Sheffield does come through this economic climate as successful as possible."

When asked if the findings would be considered in future budgets, Cllr Dore said:

"The Sheffield Executive Board, which is made up of all the leading public and private partners in the city, are working together to make sure Sheffield is successful. We've identified what the priorities are in our outcomes. This report helps us to know exactly where we are so that we can know how to get where we want to be."

The report also highlighted major health inequalities in the city: depending on where you live you could have as many as 8 years knocked off your life expectancy. For example if you're a woman living in Ecclesall then you're like to reach the age of 86 years old; but if you're a female in Darnall then you're life expectancy drops to 78 years old. Men in the city have the same variance in life expectancy: men in Fulwood live on average till their 83 years old but men in Burngreave its just 75 years.

On a positive note the life expectancy in Sheffield is better than many other cities, including Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.