Insider Media Limited

Business leaders in the West Midlands have welcomed the news that unemployment in the region has fallen by 4,000. The region’s chamber of commerce said the government still needed to do more to get 260,000 people out of work and into employment in the West Midlands.

The unemployment rate in the region is now 9.7 per cent, still among the highest in the country. The national average unemployment rate is 7.8 per cent.

Christine Braddock, president of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are pleased that unemployment has fallen this quarter, albeit by a small number, after months of rising.

“However, we believe that far more needs to be done to improve the skills base of both the city and the region, which currently has the lowest level of skills in the UK after the North West.

“Between January and February more than 6,000 job vacancies were advertised in Birmingham job centres and yet unemployment continued to rise.

She added that “time and time again” employers report that candidates do not meet their basic skills needs in areas such as literacy and numeracy.

Mike Ashton, spokesman for the West Midlands Chambers of Commerce, said: “The West Midlands still has 260,000 people who are unemployed, and we feel that the Government should do more to enable business to create the jobs needed by these people. The situation is particularly unacceptable where youth unemployment is concerned – nationally, we are seeing the highest level of jobless 16 and 17-year-olds since records began in 1992.”