Recession exacerbated north-south divide, ONS data shows

The North-East and Midlands regions were worst hit by rises in unemployment during the UK recession, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).Regional data shows that unemployment in these two areas rose by more than 5 percentage points, while in comparison joblessness in the South and the East rose by much less, between 2.1 and 3.5 percentage points.