Midlands unemployment rises

Unemployment has risen in the Midlands, despite a drop nationally. Credit: Reuters

The level of unemployment in the Midlands has risen between April and June according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Unemployment in the West Midlands has risen by 3.1% an increase of 7,000 in the three months to June, whereas in the East Midlands there was an increase of 5.5% which equates to 10,000 people losing their jobs.

The unemployment rate for the West Midlands between April and June was 8.8% of the population which means 235,000 people were out of work. The figure was 8.3% of the East Midlands which was 193,000 people.

The worst hit area of the UK was found to be Yorkshire and the Humber which recorded an increase of 25,000 people finding themselves unemployed.

However, the figures show that nationally the number of unemployed people dropped to its lowest level for a year, a fall of 46,000 people. The national unemployment level is 8% which equates to 1.59million people across the UK.

Most of the quarterly fall in unemployment was recorded in London, suggesting a big jobs boost from the Olympic Games.