Economy
The last shipbuilder, John Readhead & Sons, closed in 1984 and the last pit, Westoe Colliery, in 1993. Today, the town relies largely on service industries, whilst many residents commute to work in nearby Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside and Sunderland.
Despite a skilled local workforce, for many years South Tyneside had the highest unemployment rate in mainland Britain, although between December 2002 and December 2008 unemployment in South Shields fell by 17.8%, and that of South Tyneside by 17.7%, the best performance in the North East region over that time period.
In January 2011, the Guardian reported the unemployment rate at 6.5%. In October 2011 the Guardian reported the unemployment rate at 7.5%
The Port of Tyne is one of the UK's most important and is further developing its freight and passenger activities. In 2007, it imported two million tonnes of coal. Manufacturing and ship repair/engineering are other significant sectors.
South Shields benefits from significant public and private sector investment. More recently this has included primarily the town centre, riverside and foreshore areas, given the decline of once-traditional heavy industries with the town's growing importance as a major commercial centre and tourist destination.
Read more about this topic: South Shields
Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“Quidquid luce fuit tenebris agit: but also the other way around. What we experience in dreams, so long as we experience it frequently, is in the end just as much a part of the total economy of our soul as anything we “really” experience: because of it we are richer or poorer, are sensitive to one need more or less, and are eventually guided a little by our dream-habits in broad daylight and even in the most cheerful moments occupying our waking spirit.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Wise men read very sharply all your private history in your look and gait and behavior. The whole economy of nature is bent on expression. The tell-tale body is all tongues. Men are like Geneva watches with crystal faces which expose the whole movement.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)