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The East End of London will rarely feature on a tourist's list of places to see in the capital. Its name is synonymous with slums, workhouses and crime as epitomized by the Kray's and Jack the Ripper.

But this part of London has been undergoing a major regeneration and cultural renaissance over the last twenty years and despite the negative connotations, the East End - and its Docklands neighbour – economy is ranked as third of fifty-three other sub-regions in the UK .

Then and now
Because the strict planning laws of Central and West London failed to extend to the rest of the capital during the 1800s, the East End quickly seized upon the opportunity to industrialise as much of the area as it possibly could. And as Britain extended its influence overseas, the port of London soon became the busiest in the world. Along what is now called the Docklands, huge warehouses and cargo depots were built to cope with the volume of goods entering London from across the Empire which by 1900, covered one-quarter of the world's population.

But the decline of London 's preeminence as a port signaled the demise of much of the East End's industry and throughout the twentieth century, this once vibrant part of the London economy, slipped into relative obscurity and economic depression. However, just when most people had written the area off and dismissed it as being impossible to rejuvenate, London's housing problem and swelling population forced the redevelopment of the East End. And today, a number of the warehouses that were once packed to the rafters with an array of goods from overseas have now been converted into modern apartments.

Not only was new housing eagerly needed, new business premises were in short supply with many organisations having outgrown their existing location in the traditional City heartland. And with an extra one million jobs predicted in the capital by 2026, East London is expected to be the place where population – both business and residential - will grow the quickest. Hence the rebirth of East London .

Today, some 612,000 people make their living in the East End and Docklands area of the city which is now dominated by the service industry.

Indeed, the blue collar industries of the East End have lost their dominant role as the major employer in the area and have been replaced by the white collar sectors such as finance, retail and publishing. However, the manufacturing and related sector has not entirely disappeared.

In line with national trends, the manufacturing sector in the area is declining in terms of employment opportunities but, it still supports almost 39,000 jobs (6.3 per cent of the workforce) in the East End .

One of the fastest growing sectors in recent years has been construction. With a number of ambitious projects earmarked for the 2012 London Olympics, demand for construction workers and skilled trades people is at its peak, employing around 29,000 - over 3,400 people are employed on the development of the Olympic Park alone.

London 's successful bid to win the right to host the Olympics has been seen as the major catalyst for change in East London , stimulating the growth of a number of sectors such as hospitality.

Already supporting around 116,000 (19 per cent of the workforce) jobs, the hospitality, hotel and restaurant (aka ‘tourism') sector is one of the prime industries that will benefit from the Olympics, with the games expected to generate an additional £2.1bn to the UK economy – with £464m to benefit the East End itself.

However, the most important sector both in terms of employment and contribution to GDP, is the finance and legal sector. For years The City has been the centre of world finance and the prime UK location for many the world's leading banks, financiers and legal services. But given that its geographical area is no bigger than the ‘square mile' whose name that denotes it, The City's physical ability to accommodate and encourage the expansion of many of its inhabitants, is severely restricted.

Consequently, the likes of HSBC, Credit Suisse, Barclays and Clifford Chance have all relocated their operations to the Docklands area of Canary Wharf. Overall, the finance and legal sector in the East End employs over 187,000 people – 31 per cent of the district's entire workforce.

Equally significant, in employment terms, is the public sector. As each of the Borough's within the ‘E' post code area are now responsible for their own domestic affairs, a significant number of people are employed within the fields of public administration, health and education. Indeed, this sector is the second biggest employ in the district, responsible for 1 in 4 jobs in the area.

Key business districts
Canary Wharf is the central business district of the East End and Docklands and is home to Britain's tallest building, One Canada Square. A number of new skyscrapers have been built alongside it in recent years to meet the demand of expansion from The City. This part of town is home to a number of leading players in the world of finance media, including Credit Suisse, HSBC, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Northern Trust, and Barclays, law firms such as Clifford Chance. And there are a number of major media organisations headquartered here such as Thomson Reuters, and Trinity Mirror.

Technology company Infosys and the Financial Services Authority are also located here, as are the 2012 Olympic Games organisers LOCOG and the ODA.

Elsewhere, Silvertown is an industrialized district in the East London borough of Newham, named after Samuel Winkworth Silver's former rubber factory which opened in 1852, and now dominated by the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery. Another major local employer is the Loders and Nucoline plant at Cairn Mills, a traditional port oleo industry and formerly part of Unilever.

If you're thinking of moving to the area, take a look at some of the current property available to buy or let in East London.

Take a closer look
A picture is worth a thousand words. You can see some images from in and around East London below.

Looking for local vacancies? See all current jobs in East London or find out more information on the local area.