Unemployment in West Midlands at lowest since spring 2011
Job queues are shrinking across the West Midlands, according to official figures today, as national unemployment fell by 48,000 between July and September to 2.47 million - it's lowest since the spring of 2011.
In the West Midlands it was down 15,000 to 257,000 over the three months, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The number of people in work has reached a record high of almost 30 million.
Meanwhile the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance was cut for the 12th month in a row in October, down by 41,700 to 1.31 million, the lowest for almost five years.
The two figures differ because not everyone who is registered as unemployed is eligible to claim jobseeker's allowance.
Across the West Midlands region the claimant count was down 6,547 to 135,084.
Wolverhampton, which has the highest rate of claimants in the region, saw a fall of 476 to 10,889, or 6.8 per cent of the city's working population.
In Walsall the number was down by 400 to 8,505 (5.1 per cent of the borough's working population) and in Sandwell the fall was 484 to 11,445 (5.8 per cent)
Dudley saw a fall of 279 to 8,696 (4.5 per cent) and the Wyre Forest district was down 55 to 1,923 (3.2 per cent).
For Birmingham there was a fall of 1,870 to 42,982 (6.2 per cent).
In Staffordshire the number of claimants reduced by 803 to 10,381 (1.9 per cent) with Stafford falling by 78 to 1,361 (1.6 per cent), Lichfield by 89 to 939 (1,5 per cent), Cannock Chase by 151 to 1,510 (2.4 per cent) and South Staffordshire 82 to 1,360 (2 per cent).
Nationwide, the ONS said average earnings increased by 0.7 per cent in the year to September, 0.1 per cent down on the previous month and way below the current rate of inflation of 2.2 per cent.
