The Brazilian economy in the northeastern region has undergone several changes between the 50's and 80's. The main result of those changes was the installation of an industrial park, which complements and depends on the most developed areas of the country. The purpose of the paper is to identify the areas that currently play a central role in the development of the region, the local employment dynamics, and the intra-regional heterogeneity. Descriptive and multivariate methods are used to analyze data on employment and local diversity in the period 1995/2007 (sources: RAIS/MTE and IBGE). The results show that the most dynamic areas in terms of employment are also those with the highest rates of centrality. Despite the improvements in recent years, intra-regional differences remain very high.
Brazilian Economy; Northeastern Region; Employment; Central Place; Urban Network; Development
