West Midlands unemployment down despite Caparo collapse

There were 8,000 fewer out of work in the region, at 157,000, while UK unemployment fell to a near eight-year low with a record number of people in work, official figures have shown.

Nationally the jobless total fell by 99,000 in the three months to November to 1.6 million.

This week's raft of job losses in the steel industry will not feed through to statistics for months.

The data from the Office for National Statistic showed that unemployment has fallen by 239,000 over the past year nationally and by 15,000 in the West Midlands.

The claimant count has also fallen - down by 4,300 last month to 785,900, the lowest since March 2008.

Employment has reached a record 31.3 million, a rate of 74 per cent, increasing by more than half a million over the past year and by 267,000 in the latest quarter.

Claimant count numbers in the West Midlands were down 750 in December to 55,270.

In the Black Country there was a mixed picture. Dudley claimants were down 50 to 5,225 - 2.7 per cent of the working population - and Sandwell fell by the same number to 6,285 (3.2 per cent).

Walsall saw claimant numbers rise by 30 to 4,260 (2.5 per cent) and Wolverhampton had five more at 5,890 (3.7 per cent).

For Staffordshire the total fell by 45 to 4,470 (0.8 per cent) with Lichfield down 35 to 380 (0.6 per cent), Stafford falling 30 to 545 (0.7 per cent) and South Staffordshire staying the same at 685 (one per cent). Cannock Chase had five more claimants at 695 (1.1 per cent)

Gerry Lyng, Jobcentre Plus spokesman for the Black Country, said that the trend of falling numbers of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance and other unemployment benefits was continuing as more people found work.

He said that since 2010 the number of IT and business services jobs in the West Midlands had risen by 17 per cent or 88,000.

Retail had contributed 35,000 jobs - up six per cent; manufacturing had added 28,000 - up 10 per cent; leisure services 21,000 - up 17 per cent; health and education 14,000 - up two per cent and construction 4,000 - up two per cent.

Increasing numbers of people setting up their own businesses were also helping cut unemployment with more than 7,500 new businesses started in the West Midlands since 2011 -770 in Dudley, 650 each in Walsall and Wolverhampton and 600 in Sandwell.

Mr Kells said that Jobcentre Plus had acted quickly to help people who lost jobs in the Black Country with the collapse of Caparo Industries in October.

"We have worked with the local authorities to offer a bespoke service and run jobs fair to get many of those people back into work quickly," he added.

Employment Minister, Priti Patel, said: "This is a record-breaking set of figures – and has got 2016 off to a fantastic start.

"There are now more people in work than ever before and wages are growing consistently – a credit to hardworking Brits and businesses alike. And in a further demonstration of the strength of the UK labour market today's figures show a record three quarters of a million vacancies available. The West Midlands has a record 2.6 million people in work."

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Unemployment is now below where it was before the recession. We must stick to our plan to keep delivering jobs and security for people."

The Confederation of British Industry's chief of staff Matthew Fell said: "The labour market continues to be a bright spot for the UK economy, reflecting strong domestic demand and the importance of maintaining flexibility. However, global risks are ramping up, so there's no room for complacency.

"While employment has continued to rise strongly, with the largest increase for almost 18 months, private sector pay growth has continued to slow, underlining the need for a sustained recovery in productivity."