Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshireon the south coast of England, and is situated 120 kilometres (75 mi) south-west of Londonand 30 kilometres (19 mi) north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest. It lies at the northernmost point of Southampton Waterat the confluence of the River Testand River Itchen, with the River Hamblejoining to the south of the urban area. The local authority is Southampton City Council, which is a unitary authority.
Just over a quarter of the jobs available in the city are in the health and education sector. A further 19 per cent are property and other business and the third largest sector is wholesale and retail, which accounts for 16.2 percent.Between 1995 and 2004, the number of jobs in Southampton has increased by 18.5 per cent.Southampton has always been a port, and the docks have long been a major employer in the city. In particular, it is a port forcruise ships; its heyday was the first half of the 20th century, and in particular the inter-war years, when it handled almost half the passenger traffic of the UK. Today it remains home to luxury cruise ships, as well as being the largest freight port on the Channel coast and fourth largest UK port by tonnage,with severalcontainerterminals. Unlike some other ports, such asLiverpool, London, andBristol, where industry and docks have largely moved out of the city centres leaving room for redevelopment, Southampton retains much of its inner-city industry.