The threat to thousands of jobs in the steel industry has been occupying the minds of ministers, regional politicians and business leaders. Recent news reports of redundancies resulting from increased global competition have suggested that the long-term decline may deepen further.

Last year, Chancellor George Osborne set out his vision to create a ‘Northern Powerhouse’ as a means of addressing the north-south economic divide. Figures from the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) give a detailed insight into differences in employee growth between the north and south.