This factsheet compares Leicester to the five most similar European cities on size and industrial structure. These are: Bochum (Germany), Bielefeld (Germany), Mulhouse (France), Clermont-Ferrand (France) and Rouen (France).

Comparing cities in this way helps us to understand more about how well UK cities are competing on an international scale because it groups cities with similar industrial structures, rather than on their resulting economic performance. The factsheet also compares the relative strengths and weaknesses of Leicester to its European counterparts on variables such as skills, employment and productivity.

City group characteristics

Leicester is part of a group of medium sized cities with a fairly similar sized public and private services sector.

Population

Industrial structure

Key

• Manufacturing, mining and utilities 2011
• Business services 2011
• Public services 2011
• Other private services 2011
• Other sectors 2011

Overall economic performance

Leicester has a high number of jobs and a low number of businesses compared to its group. It also has a high employment rate, but has the highest proportion of low skills in its group.