Ex-industrial braced for hard blows

IN a pattern that appears all too familiar, it is Yorkshire's former industrial heartlands where the coming economic hit is likely to be hardest.

Towns and cities like Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield have become hugely dependant on public sector and so could suffer most from spending cuts. Barnsley has among the highest proportion of public sector workers in the country, principally due to its tiny private sector.

Council leader Steve Houghton said it is essential the Government targets any cuts carefully.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"These cuts must not simply be implemented across the board," he said. "There are other economies much stronger and other councils better funded than ours that are much better placed to cope."

In Sheffield, which has seen the biggest increase in public sector employment in the country over the past decade – up 55 per cent – the city council's cabinet member for employment Colin Ross said considerable work has been done recently to try to boost the private sector. But state and state-reliant jobs still make up nearly a third of the city's economy.

There are some smaller Yorkshire market towns where dependence on the state is high. Even York may suffer.

And in cities like Hull and Grimsby unemployment has already soared.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Hull has suffered the worst of the recession," said Hull Forward's chief executive John Holmes. "There are other towns and cities which could arguably stand on their own two feet a bit more than us."