Yorkshire and the Humber is a region of widely varying economic fortunes. Leeds, in West Yorkshire, is nationally famous for its rapid growth in financial and business services, particularly in financial intermediation, non-life insurance and legal activities. About a quarter of the workforce in Leeds are in financial and business services, one of the largest concentrations outside London.  Between 1995 and 2004, per capita GVA in Leeds grew by 66 per cent, identical to the rate of London’s growth.
Leeds owes its success in part to its location as a major regional transport hub. MetroTrains operate from Leeds to all parts of West Yorkshire and other operators to the rest of the country. With the A1(M), M1 and M62 intersecting at Leeds, it is the principal northern hub of the motorway network. The Leeds city-region is seen as the principal driver of the region’s growth, and is the primary reason why West Yorkshire accounts for nearly half of the region’s GVA (see map).
Other parts of the region have also shown signs of recovery and dynamism. Sheffield has undergone a successful transition to high-value added manufacturing, and currently produces more steel than at any time in its history. The Hull and Humber ports form the UK’s largest, and Europe’s fourth largest, port complex. South Yorkshire is among Europe’s most successful Objective 1 areas.
Unfortunately, this economic good fortune is not evenly distributed across the region. Leeds and York are the only NUTS3 areas with a per capita GVA above the national average. Much of the region has yet to make a full recovery from the decline of traditional industries in mining, manufacturing, and fishing.  Hull ranks ninth among all English local authorities in the 2004 Index of Multiple Deprivation, and Barnsley ranks 28th: even Leeds scores poorly in the deprivation index, ranking 64 among 354 local authorities, suggesting that its economic success has not been distributed evenly among its residents.
The region’s employment rate is identical to the national average, but falls to below 70 per cent in Hull, Barnsley, Bradford, and Sheffield. Levels of educational attainment also vary hugely across the region, with the proportion qualified to NVQ level 4 or above rising as high as 33 per cent in York, but falling to 13 per cent in Hull.
The region has a rich stock of natural and historical assets, manifest most spectacularly in the city of York and in its two national parks. Leeds, as shown, is among the UK’s most successful cities, but like London, has been unable to distribute its wealth evenly among its residents. With the ninth lowest per capita GVA among all regions and countries, the region still has some way to go before it fully recovers from the loss of its traditional industries.