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Enterprise

West Midlands records biggest growth in employment of all º£½ÇÊÓÆµ regions - report

But newly published research by EY warns the region's growth is expected to drop over the next three years

EY's Midlands managing partner Simon O'Neill

The West Midlands recorded the biggest growth in employment of all º£½ÇÊÓÆµ regions with the creation of 81,000 jobs in the year to November 2019, according to a new report.

Over the period 2016 to 2019, the region saw an average economic growth of 2.1 per cent gross value added (GVA) which was surpassed only by London and the East of England.

Looking ahead, the region's growth is expected to drop to 1.4 per cent GVA until 2023 which will see it outpaced by other regions including the East Midlands (1.6 per cent), according to the new Regional Economic Forecast published by EY.

Manufacturing will continue to bolster the regional economy in the West Midlands as the sector continues to contribute the most GVA up until 2023, the research suggests.

However, the region's manufacturing sector's GVA growth is expected to more than halve from 1.4 per cent in 2016 to 2019 to 0.5 per cent in 2020 to 2023.

Employment growth of 0.3 per cent for the West Midlands is forecast to underperform the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ rate of 0.7 per cent.

The sectors in the region that are expected to see the biggest uplift in employment are arts, entertainment, recreation and administrative and support services activities.