Banks and building societies create more than one-in-10 jobs in five locations across the UK
The importance of the banking sector in the UK's jobs market has been laid bare by new figures from the British Bankers' Association (BBA).
A jobs report from the BBA shows that banks and building societies represent more than 10 per cent of local jobs in five parliamentary constituencies, four of which are outside London.
Two constituencies in Edinburgh, one in Halifax and Bournemouth and one in London – Poplar and Limehouse, since you asked – all rely on the sector for more than one in ten jobs.
Similarly almost 20 constituencies draw more than five per cent of jobs from banks or building societies.
Read More: Experts are vital, but so is scepticism and debate
Source: BBA
A total of 90 of the 100 locations with the highest proportion of banking jobs were outside of London.
The largest number of banking and building society jobs are still in the capital, at 143,750.
However, the South West has seen the most dramatic increase in bank and building society jobs, with a total increase of just over 10 per cent, reaching a total of 33,000 jobs in the region by the end of 2015.
Read More: Have British banks finally got over the financial crisis?
BBA chief executive Anthony Browne said: “Despite the impression of banking being London based, our latest figures show the overwhelming contribution the industry makes to communities across the UK, through jobs and apprenticeships.
“From Edinburgh to Exeter, Birmingham to Bournemouth, Britain’s regions have continued to maintain their impressive growth, cementing their reputation as great places for banks and building societies to find talented local people and to do business.”
Labour's shadow City minister Jonathan Reynolds said: “These figures reinforce the important contribution of financial services to our economy throughout the UK, not just in the square mile.”