The Manchester jobs market is continuing to go from strength to strength thanks to a digital boom, despite the city “under-performing”, says digital jobs board Bubble Jobs.

The jobs board advertised around 4,500 jobs in the city last year – representing just over 8% of the total vacancies advertised on the site.

Bubble Jobs MD Adam Butwilowski said: “Over the last 12 months, we’ve definitely seen an influx of digital vacancies in the Manchester area as major brands like Bupa Health and Wellbeing and Accenture continue to expand their digital presence in the city.

“In terms of the digital vacancies advertised in Manchester last year on Bubble, there’s certainly been a mix of roles right across the sector, suggesting the city’s digital industry is incredibly diverse and employers are looking for talent across all areas of the industry.”

The announcement comes a week after the Centre for Cities made the controversial claim that Manchester was “under-performing” compared to other key cities in the UK.

According to the think tank, both Sheffield and Manchester are “very much punching below their weight in terms of their contribution to the national economy”.

The report also went on to claim that London appears to “suck talent from the rest of country” – a claim which is highly refuted by Manchester’s recruiters.

The Little Black Book Recruitment Agency director Gareth Wright said: “Manchester is a strong hub of digital evangelism and talent, and this is recognised throughout the UK.

“We are continually interviewing candidates from outside of Manchester (including those currently living in London), who are keen to move here and be a part of digital Manchester.

“The BBC moving here has had a positive influence on the area, as has the improved quality of creative work that is leaving Manchester – we have a number of Manchester (agency) clients who often pitch and win against a roster of London agencies, which can only be a good thing!”

Director of Success Digital, Deepak Saluja also agreed and said: “Whilst London maybe the melting pot for Digital, it has to be said that Manchester has firmly put itself on the map with the emergence of high profile brands like Boohoo.com and Miss Guided.

"With the transformation of Manchester ‘City’ coupled with these exciting chic digital brands, we haven’t had too much trouble in finding local talent or those who may want to relocate. It’s fast becoming a true ‘Global Digital hub’”.

A recent report by New Economy supports Bubble’s view that, outside of London, Manchester is leading the way for the digital industry.

It revealed that there are around 45,000 people employed in the digital and creative industries in Greater Manchester.

Figures from their recently released “The Digital & Creative Sector In Greater Manchester – Overview of Skills Issues” report also show there are around 8,000 digital and creative digital businesses based in the Greater Manchester region.

These generate £2 billion in economic output, making Greater Manchester home to the largest digital and creative cluster outside London.

Recent figures from StartUp Britain’s Daily Tracker show Manchester is also continuing to attract new businesses.

The figures show that nearly 12,000 new start-up businesses were registered in the city in 2013 – placing Manchester in third place for new start-up registrations behind Birmingham and London.

These reports come a week before Manchester Digital’s Talent Day on 12^th February, where around 50 of the North West’s leading digital and creative companies will be at the city’s town hall scouting the best talent on offer.

Katie Gallagher, Business Development Director of Manchester Digital said: “Talent Day is now in its third year and seems to be ever-growing in popularity.

“Its purpose is to connect the flow of talent from our universities and colleges with our fast growing digital industry.

“Talent retention is actually quite high in Manchester in comparison to other parts of the UK, somewhere in the region of 77 per cent.

“Events like this do their part to showcase the breadth and depth of the opportunities the North West can offer to graduates.

“Manchester has seen its digital sector boom in the last couple of years with many smaller agencies doubling in size and larger companies growing digital teams that are hitting the hundreds in headcount.”