Manchester, Northern England's old industrial powerhouse, has become an employment magnet in what may be an early triumph for the government's "levelling up" policy.

Manchester, Northern England's old industrial powerhouse, has become an employment magnet in what may be an early triumph for the government's "levelling up" policy.

From 2018 to March 2023, Bloomberg reviewed millions of job adverts handled by Reed Recruitment in England. According to the statistics, numerous significant towns in the "Red Wall" electoral areas which helped re-elect the Conservatives in 2019, as well as several further north, are still lagging in terms of opportunity.

Many of people in such districts, which were formerly Labour strongholds but swung Conservative in the last election, thought that the Conservatives would bring more profitable employment to their region. Except from a bigger concentration of job ads in Manchester, there is no sign that positions are spreading more widely.

London continues to have the largest number of new job openings, while ranking 21st among larger towns and cities when numbers are adjusted for the number of listings per local worker.

Nonetheless, the figures reveal a country where work opportunities are scarce in significant parts of the Northeast, Northwest, and coastal regions.

Apart from Manchester, the only locations in England with more than 200 average monthly job listings per 10,000 local employees in the last three years have been Cambridge, Milton Keynes, and Reading, all of which are within a 60-mile radius of the city.

The thriving employment market in these locations suggests thriving local economies and bright prospects for local employees.

Manchester has advocated for greater autonomy from the federal government. Since spy agency GCHQ opened a headquarters there, it now boasts a booming cyber-security and biotech business, and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. has identified Manchester as one of its six worldwide key areas for development.

Some of the UK's most underdeveloped towns and cities have seven to ten times fewer job ads. Birkenhead, Plymouth, Southend-on-Sea, Hull, and Sunderland are among the cities.

There is also a common factor in locations with a poor employment market. For the past three months, the administrative and secretarial industry has been one of the most active recruiters in Birkenhead, Southend-on-Sea, and Hull. Throughout period, the areas with the fewest job postings rely on education, engineering, and customer service.

"Hull has a low reputation and may be misconstrued by certain recruiters," explains Emma Hardy, Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle. "It has a first-class university, and half of its graduates stay in the area — the national average."

Yet, she worries that companies are not casting a wide enough net in the neighbouring communities. Hardy has launched a drive to encourage local firms to give greater remote working opportunities.

(Bloomberg.com)