The Changing Relationship between Local and National Unemployment Rates in Northern England,1971–1980

One aspect of the ‘regional problem’ in the British context has been the tendency for certain regions to suffer from unemployment levels persistently above the national average, often reinforced by high degrees of sensitivity to national cyclical changes. The paper examines the relationships between levels of unemployment within the Northern Region and the nation as a whole, focussing particularly upon changes in these relationships over the last decade. The lack of stability identified, with areas reacting differently to different cycles or parts of cycles, raises a number of questions concerning the interpretation of interregional unemployment convergence or divergence trends.