Unemployment

Prime Minister Andy Burnham (left) with Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey on the main stage during the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool in September 2026

Key economic data in the countdown to the Budget

Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard

'Labour is letting young people down': Tory MP clashes with minister

Dip in West Midlands unemployment as small business rein in hiring

Some of the empty buildings in Walsall town centre. Park Place and surrounding shops where a mannequin with an axe is the only figure of sorts to be seen .

Bleak picture for borough as 1/5 of adults are 'economically inactive'

Lidl sign

Lidl sets aside 10% of interviews at new shops for long-term unemployed

Job Centre sign

City's youth unemployment issue laid bare through alarming new figures

Small dip in unemployment in West Midlands as UK vacancies slump

Alan Milburn

Comment: Youth unemployment is not only a tragedy, it's a timebomb

Mayor Richard Parker, Business Secretary Peter Kyle, and Sandwell College principal Lisa Capper chat with construction students at the new Cradley Heath skills centre

Business Secretary Peter Kyle visits £9m Cradley Heath Skills Campus

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Unemployment drops sharply as inactivity in jobs market rises

Small dip in unemployment in West Mids as vacancies tumble nationally

People walking on the way to work in London

UK economic growth forecasts slashed as IMF says Iran war risks global recession

Birmingham Council leader Coun John Cotton at the budget meeting on Tuesday, February 24. Credit: Alexander Brock

Birmingham unemployment at ‘crisis levels’

UK inflation ‘to be pushed higher’ by energy prices amid Iran conflict

Unemployment to jump to 5.3% as UK economy faces slower growth, says OBR

Plus Spring Statement 2026: West Midlands business leaders react to latest announceme...

Spring statement 2026: Forecasts at-a-glance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she had the ‘right economic plan’ for the UK despite the budget watchdog slashing its forecast for growth this year.
Ian Jones, Press Association

Consumer confidence falls despite easing inflation

UK jobless rate surges as nearly one in six young people out of work

Unemployment hits five-year high after surprise rise as wage growth slows – ONS

TSB’s earnings in robust shape ahead of Santander takeover

Plus Unemployment higher among young people in the Black Country, figures show

Major strike in Portugal disrupts travel and services

Unemployment in West Midlands highest outside London - latest ONS figures show

Unemployment in West Midlands still highest in the country, latest ONS figures s...

Unemployment in the West Midlands hits highest figure in the country

Fact check: Has unemployment risen ‘every single month’ under Labour?

West Midlands has second highest unemployment rate in the country, latest figure...
Unemployment in the West Midlands has risen to 5.8 per cent - the highest figure outside London.
Beverly Rademacher

Wolverhampton's Molineux House Jobcentre in Temple Street

West Midlands unemployment rate climbs to 5.7 per cent as UK hits highest jobles...

100 young people upskilled amid regional employment crisis

A Jobcentre Plus sign

Unemployment rate jumps to 4.5% in West Midlands, new government figures show

Unemployment rises in region, while latest claimant count figures are released

IMF upgrades UK economic growth as elections drive global uncertainty

Taliban celebrate three years in power with parade at former US air base

Plus Inside the Walsall food bank helping hundreds of poverty-stricken families

Fact check: Unemployment under Labour and Facebook ads

Unemployment drops slightly in West Midlands but rises nationally

Unemployment rises in West Midlands for third month in a row

Unemployment falls in West Midlands as number in work nationally hits a high

Conservatives accuse Wolverhampton Council of failing city over high unemploymen...

Unemployment rises for fifth straight month across the region

Unemployment up for fourth month in a row across West Midlands

Unemployment rises in West Midlands as national rate remains unchanged

Unemployment rises in West Midlands but is unchanged nationally

Unemployment falls in the West Midlands

Wages in Black Country rise by less than eight per cent as inflation soars

Cathy Dobbs: Cutting costs as shrinkflation bites

Unemployment and claimants fall again in the West Midlands

Unemployment drops in the West Midlands but pay falls further behind rocketing i...

Unemployment falls in the West Midlands despite Omicron impact

Unemployment and claimants continue to fall in the West Midlands

Unemployment and claimants down again in the West Midlands

Unemployment rises in the West Midlands

Unemployment falls in the West Midlands ahead of final lockdown easing

Unemployment falls in the West Midlands

Fewer out of work across the West Midlands as businesses reopen after lockdown

Loneliness during pandemic ‘greater in areas with more young people’

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