Around 13,000 people in the West Midlands secured themselves a job during the first quarter of this year, new figures from the Office for National Statistics show. According to expressandstar.com, this means only 213,000 people are now out of work in the region – the lowest figure seen for five years. The unemployment rate dropped by 0.5 per cent over the first quarter; with the proportion of jobless people in the West Midlands now standing at 7.8 per cent.

The number of people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance in the region fell too, from 126,613 to 121,487. Now, just 4.5 per cent of people in the West Midlands need to seek financial support from the government.

Tim Pile, Birmingham chamber president, says;

“While the unemployment figures are still high, the chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey is showing a rapid increase in business confidence,”.

birminghampost.co.uk reports; “This is an extremely welcome trend, particularly given that these are the lowest figures for at least five years and we underline again that Birmingham is open for business and can improve these figures further.”

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