Mark Garnier MP gives a cautious welcome to this month’s employment statistics for Wyre Forest.
Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics show a continued downward trend in unemployment locally. The number of unemployed claimants in November was 1,781, which represents 3.7% of the economically active population and compares to a rate of 3.9% nationally and 4.8% in the West Midlands region. The number of claimants is 433 lower than in November 2012 and 142 lower than in October 2013 meaning that there has been a 7.4% increase in employment between October and November.
Mark inherited an unemployment rate of 4.8% in May 2010. This has fallen by nearly a quarter to 3.7%.
Mark Garnier said “It is very encouraging to see that unemployment has fallen once again in Wyre Forest. We are well below the regional unemployment rate and have been persistently below the national average. Clearly this shows that both the hard work that we do locally and Government policy is working.
However there is still work that needs to be done and I am continuing to organise events such as jobs and apprenticeship fairs to help local people find employment or training. It is important not to be complacent and to work hard to maintain this downward trend. Importantly, whilst it is good to see that unemployment is on the decline locally, we still have the problem of relatively low local wages. That is an issue that we need address and as the demand for staff increases, and local training opportunities improve, low wages should rise”