Average salaries rise in West Midlands

According to research for the latest UK Job Market Report for recruitment website Adzuna.co.uk, the region's annual salary in June was £30,363 - a rise of 3.1 per cent on last year.

The president of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, Ninder Johal, said it was good news for the area that salaries were rising.

"It follows a tough six years for the West Midlands and shows that confidence is on the rise in the region's private firms," he added.

Mr Johal said the improvement in salaries would also help to retain talent in the region.

"If skilled people can see a future they will stay here and that will also help to attract more inward investment into areas like the Black Country.

"Higher salaries also lead to more money being spent in the area helping the wider economy," he added.

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The report also found that the average salary for graduates in the West Midlands was now £25,051, a 25 per cent improvement over the last 12 months.

Mr Johal said the improvement in pay was also going to help strengthen the skillof the area's workforce.

"We now have two per cent more graduates than we did last year and our school education levels are increasing which means we have a pool of much more skilled and eduated people in the workforce which is going to be attractive to firms looking to invest and move into the area. That ultimately leads to increases in wages.

"Higher salaries also enhance the perception of the area. It means we are now known for having highly skilled and talented individuals," he explained.

The report ranked Wolverhampton as seventh worst city in the UK in terms of job seekers per vacancy. Salford was the worst with 20.3, with Wolverhampton at 4.4.

Adzuna says there are currently 2,409 vacancies in the city out of 64,998 in the West Midlands. There are 10,043 in Staffordshire, 1.272 in Walsall, 660 in Dudley and 418 in West Bromwich.

Across the UK the average salary grew in 10 out of 12 regions over the year.

The UK average figure was £32,933 in June and was up 1.7 per cent on May.

Adzuna co-founder Andrew Hunter said: "Greater economic certainty is finally filtering through into a pick-up in salaries.

"Employers are boosting wages as top talent becomes harder to source, hoping that by supplementing salaries they will attract the best staff."