Unemployment falls in West Midlands as number in work nationally hits a high

The unemployment rate in the West Midlands fell in the three months to April.

According to figures from The Office for National Statistics, the total number unemployed across the region now stands at 147,000 with the jobless rate at 4.8 per cent.

That was compared to 5.1 per cent in the three months up to March.

Nationally, the rate of UK unemployment also fell unexpectedly – to 3.8 per cent in the three months to April – from 3.9 per cent in the previous three months, the ONS said.

Most economists were expecting the national unemployment rate to edge up to 4 per cent.

The ONS added that the number of people in work had hit a new record high and rose past its pre-pandemic level for the first time.

Figures for those claiming unemployment benefits in the West Midlands, including Universal Credit, stood at 182,185, down from 187,205 last month.

In Wolverhampton, the number of claimants stood at 12,735 (7.7 per cent of the working population) compared to 13,065 previously.

Sandwell's figures stood at 13,640 – 6.3 per cent of the population – compared to 14, 145 claimants previously while the number of claimants in Walsall was 9,925 (5.7 per cent of the working population).

In Birmingham, the number claiming unemployment benefits, including Universal Credit, was 63,440 (8.6 per cent of the working population).

In Staffordshire, the number of claimants fell to 15,385 from 16,045 the previous month.

In Cannock Chase, the number of claimants stands at 2,170 while in the Lichfield, the claimant count is 1,590, down from 1,615 previously.

For South Staffordshire, the number of [people claiming unemployment benefits, including Universal Credit, is 1,765 and in Stafford the number is 2,050, down 85 from the previous month.

In Tamworth, the number of claimants is 1,700, 3.5 per cent of the working population.

In the Wyre Forest, including Kidderminster, the number of claimants now stands at 1,815, compared to 1,975 previously.

The employment rate rose to 76 per cent in the latest quarter, edging up from 75.9 per cent in the previous three months, with the number of people in jobs at an all-time high of 33.1 million, up 250,000 quarter on quarter as more Britons returned to the jobs market.

But there were also some worrying signs for the employment sector, with vacancies falling for the 11th time in a row and another record high for those off work due to long-term sickness. And average weekly regular wages hit a record outside the skewed pandemic years, but remained down with inflation taken into account.

Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said: “With another rise in employment, the number of people in work overall has gone past its pre-pandemic level for the first time, setting a new record high, as have total hours worked.

“The biggest driver in recent jobs growth, meanwhile, is health and social care, followed by hospitality.

“While there has been another drop in the number of people neither working nor looking for work, which is now falling right across the age range, those outside the jobs market due to long-term sickness continues to rise, to a new record. In cash terms, basic pay is now growing at its fastest since current records began, apart from the period when the figures were distorted by the pandemic.

“However, even so, wage rises continue to lag behind inflation.”