Region’s unemployment levels drop 50,000 in 12 months but latest decline is faltering

UNEMPLOYMENT has fallen by 50,000 in the West Midlands during the last 12 months, new figures have shown.

In the June to August quarter of 2013 the region’s unemployment level stood at 257,000 – equal to a rate of 9.3%.

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show this has now declined to 207,000 – equal to a rate of 7.5%.

Nationally, the unemployment level dropped below 2 million for the first time since 2008. Latest figures show 1.97 million unemployed nationally – equal to a rate of 6%.

This means the figure has fallen by 538,000 in the past 12 months, while in the June to August period the level declined by 154,000 compared with the March to May quarter.

However, while the fall in the national rate was significant, regionally the decline was less than spectacular.

The West Midlands saw a fall of just 1,000 for the June to August quarter compared with March to May. The drop was so small it failed to impact the official rate, with the ONS opting to record it as 7.5% – the same as the prior quarter.

Birmingham Chamber of Commerce president Tim Pile said the stuttering performance was due to a lack of joined-up thinking.

“While the previous trend for the West Midlands has shown a positive downward figure, today’s announcement represents a stalling of that trend.  The key problem for the region is a lack of joined-up thinking,” he said.

“Our members tell us that there is a shortage of professional skills, in particular, ecologists, risk managers, analysts and transport modellers.  Their answer has been to take on graduates and apprentices that they can train on the job.  Other members said they couldn’t recruit people with payroll experience.

“Other members say that to satisfy the recruitment drive, large companies are taking staff from smaller companies.  More needs to be done to bring business and education together to tackle the lack of skills issue.”

In September, the chamber, in conjunction with local colleges, helped launch the new Skills Hub, a portal for employers and students alike to access skills, training opportunities, apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeships.

There was better news on pay, with salaries (including bonuses) up 0.7% during the June to August period – 0.9% if bonuses are excluded.