West Midlands shares largest fall in unemployment with 32,000 fewer out of work
UNEMPLOYMENT in the West Midlands has seen a dramatic fall with 32,000 fewer people now out of work, latest figures have shown.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics shows unemployment in the region fell to 222,000 during the September to November period last year. The 1.3% fall in the rate of unemployment to 8.1% is the joint largest in the country – the other region sharing the good news being the East Midlands.
Business leaders in the region have welcomed the news, although they remained concerned about skills shortages.
The impact of Christmas job hires may be a factor in the figures but the consistency of recent surveys suggests job creation in the region is strong, with the manufacturing sector taking the lead.
However, it is not all good news. The Birmingham local authority area retains its unwanted status as having the highest rate of unemployment in the country (16%).
Although this is showing signs of improvement it continues to suggest that the inner city areas are still not getting the help they need creating new employment opportunities and the city remains destined to be tarred by the Benefits Street brush.
Nationally, the unemployment rate fell to 7.1% meaning there has been a 0.5% fall over the July to August period. There are now 2.32m people out of work, a fall of 167,000 on the July to August quarter – the highest quarterly fall in unemployment since 1997.
Employment Minister Esther McVey said: “Creating jobs and getting people into employment are central to our economic plan to build a stronger, more competitive economy, so it is very encouraging news that we’ve seen a record-breaking rise in employment over the last three months – the largest ever.”
If the rate falls below the 7% threshold then it could prompt the Bank of England to review its decision on interest rates. New Governor Mark Carney stipulated last year that the Monetary Policy Committee would only consider a change of policy once the rate fell below 7%. Interest rates have remained frozen at 0.5% for almost four years.
In the West Midlands, Tim Pile, president of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce said while the fall in unemployment was welcome it did not disguise the fact that many businesses were still finding it hard to recruit the people they needed, especially skilled workers.
“In our latest Quarterly Economic Survey for Q4 2013, 55% of manufacturers said they had attempted to take on new staff, and 63% said they had faced difficulties in doing so. This was a similar story for service sector firms,” he said.
“We are supporting Birmingham City Council’s ‘Young Talent for Business’ initiative, a programme which helps employers access grants to encourage them to take on new staff.
“These incentives have been introduced to make it as easy and affordable as possible for Birmingham’s employers to offer paid roles to young people.”
In Warwickshire, the figures were the best the county has seen for six years.
Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is yet another indicator of an improving economy. Warwickshire’s figures highlight the fact that we are on the road to recovery although nobody is getting complacent.
“There is still much to be done and as more companies start to grow, it’s vital that we have the skills to back up the growth and meet the demands of those firms.
“On top of that, we are also seeing strong enquiries for our start-up services, which suggests that individuals see an opportunity to ‘go it alone’ and set up a business.”
