Jobs market showing strong signs of recovery - Chamber

The West Midlands jobs market is showing strong signs of recovery following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, business leaders said today.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal the region 's unemployment rate fell by 0.8 per cent from May to July, while unemployment rose by 1.0 per cent.

The inactivity rate - which measures the proportion of the population not in work - also decreased by 0.4 per cent from compared to the February to April period.

Nationally, unemployment remains 0.6 per cent higher than before the pandemic but is 0.3 per cent lower than the previous quarter.

Annual growth for total pay was 8.3 per cent and regular pay was 6.8 per cent in the May to July period.

Raj Kandola (pictured), head of policy at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “The labour market continues to show strong signs of recovery both locally and nationally as coronavirus related restrictions continued to ease over the summer.

“In the West Midlands, it 's heartening to see a reduction in both unemployment and inactivity and a notable rise in employment rates.

“However, we shouldn 't lose sight of the fact that the regional unemployment rate remains above the national average and we will need to closely monitor developments once the furlough scheme ends this month.

“At the national level, it will now be interesting to see whether the Bank of England will change course on tightening monetary policy in light of ongoing labour shortages across the economy.

“Early analysis from our latest Quarterly Business Report also reveals the difficulties local businesses are facing in attempting to fill vacancies which is also having a knock-on impact on wage inflation - all of which will be discussed at our upcoming launch event which will focus on the steps we need to take as a region to create new jobs and opportunities as we emerge from the pandemic. ”

Click here to attend the Chamber 's Quarterly Business Report launch event.