Unemployment in the West Midlands: what's really happening

The Government boasts that unemployment is falling but our analysis of the data suggests that's only part of the story - as thousands of workers are stuck in part time or temporary jobs.

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12:58, 14 AUG 2014
Updated09:05, 15 AUG 2014

Job Centre — Unemployment is down but that's not the full story (Image: Pic: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)

The Government has welcomed new employment figures which show unemployment falling in the West Midlands - and the number in work rising.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said: “In the past, many people in our society were written off and trapped in unemployment and welfare dependency. But through our welfare reforms, we are helping people to break that cycle and get back into work.”

And Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “The continued fall in unemployment provides yet more proof that the tough decisions we have made in government have been the right ones to build a stronger economy in a fairer society.”

Are they right?

The newest unemployment statistics show that the number of people in work in the West Midlands has risen:

Employment in the West Midlands

</p><p /><p>And they show that <strong>unemployment is falling:</strong> </p><h3 align=""center"">Unemployment in the West Midlands</h3><p><iframe allowfullscreen=""allowfullscreen"" allowtransparency=""true"" frameborder=""0"" height=""400"" mozallowfullscreen=""mozallowfullscreen"" msallowfullscreen=""msallowfullscreen"" oallowfullscreen=""oallowfullscreen"" src=""http://cf.datawrapper.de/zP9gc/4/"" webkitallowfullscreen=""webkitallowfullscreen"" width=""600"/"></p><p>However, <strong>youth unemployment remains high.</strong> There are 84,000 people aged 16 to 24 unemployed, according to the latest figures - an unemployment rate of 22.3 per cent. </p><h3 align=&quot;center&quot;>Youth unemployment in the West Midlands</h3><p><iframe allowfullscreen=&quot;allowfullscreen&quot; allowtransparency=&quot;true&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;400&quot; mozallowfullscreen=&quot;mozallowfullscreen&quot; msallowfullscreen=&quot;msallowfullscreen&quot; oallowfullscreen=&quot;oallowfullscreen&quot; src=&quot;http://cf.datawrapper.de/YxGje/3/&quot; webkitallowfullscreen=&quot;webkitallowfullscreen&quot; width=&quot;600&quot;/></p><p>There are 664,000 workers in the West Midlands in <strong>part time jobs.</strong> Most of them like working part time - but 128,000 people say they were forced to take a part time job because they “could not find full-time job&quot;, according to the Office for National Statistics. </p><h3 align=&quot;center&quot;>Part time workers who want full time jobs</h3><p><iframe allowfullscreen=&quot;allowfullscreen&quot; allowtransparency=&quot;true&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;400&quot; mozallowfullscreen=&quot;mozallowfullscreen&quot; msallowfullscreen=&quot;msallowfullscreen&quot; oallowfullscreen=&quot;oallowfullscreen&quot; src=&quot;http://cf.datawrapper.de/IlDCc/2/&quot; webkitallowfullscreen=&quot;webkitallowfullscreen&quot; width=&quot;600&quot;/></p><p> </p><p>There are 121,000 <strong>temporary workers</strong> in the West Midlands, and again most of these say they have chosen to take temporary jobs. But 40,000 say they only did so because they “could not find permanent job&quot;. </p><h3 align=&quot;center&quot;>Temporary workers who want permanent jobs</h3><p><iframe allowfullscreen=&quot;allowfullscreen&quot; allowtransparency=&quot;true&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;400&quot; mozallowfullscreen=&quot;mozallowfullscreen&quot; msallowfullscreen=&quot;msallowfullscreen&quot; oallowfullscreen=&quot;oallowfullscreen&quot; src=&quot;http://cf.datawrapper.de/5EeWF/2/&quot; webkitallowfullscreen=&quot;webkitallowfullscreen&quot; width=&quot;600&quot;/></p></body></p>

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