Spatial variations in the unemployment rate: a case study of North West England

Abstract

Taylor J. and Bradley S. (1983) Spatial variations in the unemployment rate: a case study of North West England, Reg. Studies 17, 113–124. This paper extends earlier work on the categorization of unemployment by exploring the reasons for spatial variations in cyclical unemployment and non-cyclical unemployment. Regression analysis is used to divide total unemployment into a cyclical category and a non-cyclical category in twenty-eight Travel-to-Work Areas in North West England during 1969–80. The spatial patterns of these two categories of unemployment are examined and an attemptis made to explain them. The main conclusions are: that spatial variations in the unemployment rate have been severely exacerbated by national recessions; that the spatial patterns of cyclical unemployment and non-cyclical unemployment are not random; and that there is considerable scope for public policy in rectifying the persistent structural weaknesses in certain groups of Travel-to-Work Areas in the NW region.