West Midlands unemployment falls to 5.3 per cent

Unemployment in the West Midlands fell to 5.3 per cent in the three months to April, down 0.8 percentage points on the previous quarter.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the region's employment rate stood at 73.3 per cent, while economic inactivity was 22.5 per cent.

Compared with the same period a year earlier, the employment rate was 1.2 percentage points higher and economic inactivity was 1.3 percentage points lower.

However, the unemployment rate remained 0.1 percentage points higher than a year ago.

Nationally, unemployment slipped to 4.9 per cent in the three months to April from 5 per cent in the three months to March.

The annual average regular earnings growth was 4.8 per cent for the public sector and three per cent for the private sector.

Commenting on the figures, Ruth Fleet (pictured), senior policy advisor at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce said: "Businesses are telling us that the environment for hiring remains challenging, with labour costs higher than ever and the US-Iran impacting energy prices and shipping costs.

“Today, as the US and Iran have agreed a peace plan, there is hope that this will bring some stability for businesses.

“Nonetheless, the legacy of the conflict will have long-reaching effects on prices, and so it is likely that the job market will remain challenging for some time while businesses grapple with higher costs across the board.

"For a data-led analysis of how the West Midlands is performing, join us at the Q2 Quarterly Business Report launch event on 7 July.”