Small rise in West Midlands unemployment rates as UK wide figures fall

Rates of unemployment in the West Midlands have increased slightly while the UK's rate has fallen to the lowest level in more than a year despite vacancies dropping for another month, official figures show.

Monthly job stats for the region published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also show a slight fall in the rate of employment but also a rise in inactivity.

For the three months from June to August 2026, the percentage of people aged 16 or over who were unemployed was 5.7 per cent, an increase of 0.5 per cent compared with the period from March to May 2026.

A total of 72.5 per cent of 16 to 64 year olds in the West Midlands were in work, a fall of 0.9 per cent compared with the same quarter.

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The inactivity rate among 16 to 64 year olds was 22.8 per cent, an increase of 0.3 per cent over the same three months.

Nationally, the rate of UK unemployment fell to 4.7 per cent in the three months to August, down from 4.9 per cent.

This was the lowest level since the three months to July 2025 and marked an unexpected decline.

More timely data suggests that workers on payrolls increased by about 13,000 between August and September, up from a revised increase of 1,000 between July and August.

Average regular earnings growth rose to 3.7 per cent in the three months to August, from 3.5 per cent growth in the three months to July.

Pay continues to outstrip inflation, rising by 0.8 per cent after taking Consumer Prices Index inflation into account.

The latest ONS data also shows the number of job vacancies advertised by employers continued to shrink, with smaller firms particularly pulling back on hiring.

Vacancies fell by 21,000 to a fresh five-year low of 691,000 in the three months to September, according to the ONS's estimates. This marked the biggest decline since the start of the year.

David Freeman, deputy director of labour market statistics with the ONS, said: "While the labour market remains broadly flat in 2026, data from the latest quarter shows the employment rate edging up and a small drop in unemployment.

"The number of workers on payroll remains slightly down over the same period though data for the most recent month suggests that might be starting to level off.

"The number of vacancies has seen its largest fall since the start of the year, concentrated mainly within smaller businesses, which cite increased labour costs as a key factor.

"Regular wage growth remained relatively stable, though total pay, including bonuses, has eased to its lowest rate in nearly six years."