West Midlands faces further unemployment misery
THE Midlands has proved to be the ‘sick man’ of the UK in terms of unemployment with the East and West regions losing a combined 31,000 jobs in the latest quarter, latest figures show.
The disappointing figures contributed to a UK unemployment rise of 35,000 during the August to October period. The total would have been much worse had the figures not been positive in other areas.
Data produced by the Office for National Statistics shows the manufacturing and service sectors were badly hit during the three month period, although the professional and public administration sectors were also affected.
The figures would seem to be at odds with recent studies which claim an upturn in manufacturing and growing optimism among employers of new jobs.
Across the UK there are now 2.5m people out of work – 7.9% of the working age population. In the West Midlands, the figures were up 12,000 (0.5%) during the quarter. There are now 238,000 people without jobs in the region – 8.9% of the working age population.
The Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group said the figures were disappointing but could be reversed if more training and economic diversification was introduced.
It said that although 18% of members said they would be expanding their workforce over the next three months, the figure was still down on the 25% figure recorded last quarter, indicating the inability of firms to take on staff as 2010 ends.
Christine Braddock, President of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, said that it was imperative that businesses look at re-training their staff.
“The West Midlands has record low numbers of unskilled people. General upskilling to the national average could mean that there is only a net loss of 28,000 jobs over the next five years. Targeted upskilling and economic diversification could create 150,000 new jobs,” she said.
Mike Ashton, Chairman of West Midlands Chamber of Commerce, said: “Workers in low skilled jobs are the least likely to receive job related training. Hotel and restaurants and the manufacturing sector have over 35% of workforces with qualifications below level 2. Retail, wholesale and transport and agriculture have over 40%. It is imperative that employers encourage their staff to gain skills.”
