THERE was a jump in the number of new businesses set up in West Yorkshire in the first few months of 2022.

The rise has been attributed to the cost of living crisis.

A new report by the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership Board has revealed that in the first three months of the year 3,107 new businesses were registered.

This was up from 2,777 the previous quarter.

Of these 24 per cent were in Bradford.

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36 per cent of the new businesses were in Leeds, 20 per cent in Kirklees, 12 per cent in Wakefield and 8 per cent in Calderdale.

An economic update for the region, which will be discussed by the partnership board on Wednesday, says: “The increase in Q1 2022 could be due to the ongoing cost of living crisis leading to people looking at extra ways to make money to support their household.

“This is quite common when there is an economic shock.”