Glasgow has long been trying to shake off it image as a city of post industrial decline, well it may have finally succeeded.

According a new report by economic analysts Slims consulting the city may have weathered the recession better than most cities and could be well placed to take advantage of the economic recovery when it comes. In fact there is evidence Glasgow is in better shape to recover more quickly than comparable cities elsewhere in the UK.

Suffering catastrophic post industrial decline it registered at the bottom of every economic benchmark the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development produced. Today the city is unrecognisable from this picture of decline. It has transformed itself into one of the leading centres for life sciences, financial services, advanced engineering and retail services in UK. All backed up with some of the best higher education facilities in Europe. As the city emerges from the deepest and the longest recession since the end of the Second World War, there are undoubted signs of optimism for the future.

Although unemployment in the city has increased by 8,000 people or up by 51%, the Scottish average was 64% and in cities that were growing fast like Glasgow prior to the recession; such as Manchester, Leeds and Bristol the increases have all been much higher. And in the all important service sector, on which the city now relies for the majority of its jobs, it appears the picture is not as bleak as it might have been. The International Financial Services District, the city’s financial heart, continues to attract new jobs with investment from companies like of E-Sure and Tesco with 1300 new jobs announced this year.

Buchanan Street has kept its position as a top UK shopping centre and in the hotel sector, a recent Deloitte’s report on the hotel market shows Glasgow still has the highest occupancy rate of all UK cities outside London at almost 76%.’ Although there is no doubt the recession has hit hard. The way Glasgow has made in transforming its economy in the run up to the recession, means the city has not done done as badly as comparable locations and will be well placed to prosper when the recovery comes.

Combine this healthy economic outlook with its cultural capital status and its hosting of the friendly games in 2014 Glasgow may be finally shrugging off its ‘No Mean City’ image for good.