Unemployment to fall in West Midlands but rise in East Midlands

IPPR predicts fall in unemployment rate in West Midlands - but a rise in the East Midlands Credit: PA

Unemployment in the West Midlands is due to fall by the end of this Summer according to a new study.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) predicts the region will buck the national trend with the number of people out of work in the West Midlands dropping by seven thousand.

However, the research also suggests that in the East Midlands, an extra 2,000 people will be unemployed by the end of the Summer.

Official figures show 241,000 or 9% of people in the West Midlands were unemployed in the three months up to January. In the East Midlands, 7.2% or 164,000 were unemployed in the same period. The national jobless rate is 8.4%.

The IPPR says national unemployment figures won’t begin to fall for another 18 months.