Region to be hardest hit by slowdown
The West Midlands region will be among the worst hit by the recession with a net loss of 180,000 jobs in the next two years, according to a gloomy report predicting the impact of the slowdown on towns and cities.
The West Midlands region will be among the worst hit by the recession with a net loss of 180,000 jobs in the next two years, according to a gloomy report predicting the impact of the slowdown on towns and cities.
The report, From Recession to Recovery, by the Local Government Association warns construction and manufacturing will be the industries hardest hit by the economic slump which account for 20 per cent of all jobs in the West Midlands.
Wolverhampton and Stafford are among the top five areas most vulnerable to job losses, while neighbouring Shropshire's track record during the last two economic downturns puts it in a relatively well-placed position to cope with the effects of the financial crisis.
The analysis shows areas like Birmingham and Redditch are most at risk from job losses having suffered a one per cent drop in employment during the last two recessions, while Shrewsbury and Telford are least at risk having experienced a two per cent rise in 1979-82 and 1990-92.
Nationally, the LGA, which represents councils in England, predicts up to 1.7 million jobs will go by December 2010.
And it warns that a national, blanket policy to beat the recession will be ineffective and that action needs to be taken at a local level.
"The case for devolved economic decision-making becomes more marked under bad economic conditions," said the report.