A NEW study is predicting that Oxford’s economy will be in the top five for employment growth this year - if Brexit goes to plan.

The UK Powerhouse study by law firm Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economics and Business Research is predicting what the impact of Brexit will be on the economy.

Assuming Prime Minister Theresa May gets her Brexit Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament; it says that Oxford’s employment levels will grow by 1.7 per cent in the year to the end of September.

It adds that employment in the city stood at 138,100 in the third quarter of 2018 and that this should increase to 140,500 in the third quarter of this year.

But the report also warned that in the case of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, business investment growth would decline in the short term.

Josie Dent, economist at CEBR, said uncertainty still surrounded what the deal between the UK and EU would be on departure day and predicted business investment would suffer following a no-deal Brexit.