This factsheet shows how Blackburn compares to the five most similar European cities in terms of size and industrial structure. These are: Hagen (Germany), Cergy-Pontoise (France), Troyes (France), Miskolc (Hungary) and Charleroi (Belgium)
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 Blackburn to its European counterparts on variables such as skills, employment and productivity.
City group characteristics
Blackburn is a small city with a relatively large manufacturing sector and a relatively small business 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
Blackburn does not perform well among its comparator cities on indicators such as productivity (GVA per worker), jobs and business. In productivity, the highest ranking city in this group is also in the top 50 for Europe, whereas Blackburn ranks at 300 of 330. Blackburn also has a high proportion of low and medium skills.