Almost a quarter of Bradford's workforce is still employed in manufacturing.

New figures reveal that the district remains heavily dependent upon the sector when it comes to employment.

And Bradford was 85th in the new national list which reveals the numbers of people employed in production.

The list of 203 counties/unitary authorities found 24.3 per cent of the city's workforce are employed in manufacturing industries.

The City of London came bottom in the rankings, with just 1.6 per cent of its workforce employed in production.

The survey, which was compiled from Government figures by general union GMB, also revealed Bradford's ranking when compared to the rest of the region.

It ranked Bradford tenth, out of the 15 counties/unitary authorities in Yorkshire and Humberside.

North Lincolnshire topped the region's poll with 38.4 per cent of its workforce employed in production.

York came last with only 17.4 per cent of its worker employed in the sector.

Mike Cartwright, policy executive officer for the Bradford Chamber of Commerce, said: "The figures show why the Government has recently been making noises, somewhat belatedly, about the importance and relevance that manufacturing still plays in this country.

"Of course, the figures vary quite dramatically nationally, but here in Bradford manufacturing is still a significant employer.

"Our members in manufacturing pretty much equate with the survey's figures.

"Moves to halt any further loss of jobs are welcomed. These include removing legislation that unfairly penalises firms in different ways, such as the climate change levy and European waste packaging directives that will affect the performance of some firms.

"Organisations such as Yorkshire Forward can also help with channelling funding into research and cluster development." Overall, Yorkshire and Humberside came fifth on the list of the 11 regions in the UK, with 24.3 per cent of its workforce employed in production industries.

Paul Kenny, GMB senior official, said: "Eight out of ten workers in Britain are now employed in the service sector.

"The figures vary enormously across the country For example, in parts of Wales four out of ten workers are employed in the production industries, while in parts of London there are few if any production workers."

This week the Telegraph & Argus highlighted the decline in the number of textile workers employed in Bradford.

In the industry's heyday it employed around 50,000 people in Bradford. Today, this figure is less than 1,000.

Closures like Laisterdyke-based W&J Whitehead last October, with the loss of 600 jobs, have accelerated the decline in numbers.