Manchester has a robust employment market and is presently the fastest expanding city in the UK. A healthy employment market in the private sector is frequently a favorable omen for jobs in the third sector. Manchester was formerly a bustling industrial city, and its ports remain a significant element of the local economy. However, its economy is now concentrated on finance, services, and creative/cultural sectors. It is also a great university city, with many well-known institutions, which means that education is a significant industry with a high need for graduates. It seems to be Europe's biggest student campus! As a result, unlike in the past, occupations in Manchester today span a broad range of sectors.
Manchester has remade itself as the uncontested cultural centre of the North, having recovered from the fall of industry. The arts, culture, and heritage sectors (many of which are in the third sector) play an important role in both the city's cultural environment and employment opportunities in Manchester. Graduates from all across the country flock to the city to work in the cultural and media industries. Spinningfields, sometimes known as "The Canary Wharf of the North," is the city's new financial core.