COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Unemployment soars in Coventry and Warwickshire

ALMOST 500 more people across Coventry and Warwickshire joined the dole queue last month – proving a dismal start to 2012.

In just two months, unemployment has soared to worrying levels – with more than 1,500 additional people claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance in January and February.

According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, the JSA count for Coventry rose from 10,512 in January to 10,700 last month.

In Warwickshire, the number of claimants rose even further from 9,054 in January to 9,277 in February.

These troubling figures come after a depressing start to the year when in January, a staggering 1,219 more people claimed JSA compared to December.

Local leaders are urging government to do more to help firms take on staff – calling for next week’s Budget to stimulate job creation.

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The rise in unemployment is clearly a major concern. Nobody has a magic wand that can suddenly address the rise but the chancellor must use this month’s Budget to try to stimulate job creation.

“We understand that he is concentrating on reducing the deficit but he should look at a way of using employers’ National Insurance contributions as a way of incentivising taking on new people, particularly young people.

“But, also, by generally setting the right conditions for growth in the private sector, that will assist the creation of new jobs.

“As we have said in the past, we do not expect a hand out from the government but we need them to lay the right foundations.

“A rise in business rates, scheduled for April, is not the way to do that and I would strongly urge the chancellor to scrap that rise in the Budget.

“Locally, the Chamber, working with partners within the LEP, are helping to address the issue and the recent success of the 100 in 100 campaign shows that there is an appetite from business to take on new staff and increase apprenticeships.

“But we need that tone to be set from the top and, therefore, this Budget must be focused on delivering the conditions for business to grow.”

Unemployment has fallen across Coventry and Warwickshire for the first time this year, according to the latest figures.

UNEMPLOYMENT has fallen across Coventry and Warwickshire for the first time this year, according to the latest figures.

More than 500 fewer people were claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance last month after a dismal start to 2012 – which saw almost 2,000 additional people join the dole queue in just two months.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of claimants in Coventry dropped from 10,700 in February to 10,511 last month.

In Warwickshire the drop was even greater – with 8,953 claimants in March compared to 9,277 in February.

The figures come after a depressing start to the year for Coventry and Warwickshire, with unemployment rising from just over 18,000 in December to almost 20,000 in February.

But despite last month’s fall, local business leaders are predicting more disappointment, claiming that unemployment may not have yet ‘reached its peak’.

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The latest figures on unemployment show an improvement in both Coventry and Warwickshire and that is, obviously, more positive news.

“Our latest quarterly economic survey suggested that more firms were looking to take on new staff than in previous quarters, which again shows signs of improvement.

“But there is absolutely no evidence yet that this will begin a steady fall in unemployment. In fact, most predict that it is still yet to reach its peak.

“So it’s vital that, at this time, when businesses want to grow and take on new people that they have access to finance and that the regulatory burden affecting companies is reduced.

“That is the message that Chamber colleagues and I will continue to push when we meet MPs and ministers because they are two major barriers to growth.”

Unemployment in the West Midlands fell by 3,000 in the three months to February, according to the figures. A total of 239,000 people were unemployed in the region between November and February.

The region’s unemployment rate was nine per cent and saw a fall of 1.2 per cent during the period. The worst in the UK was the North West which saw the biggest increase in people out of work at 5.9 per cent.

Across the country unemployment fell for the first time in almost a year, leaving 2.65 million people out of work.

The latest figures come after new research revealed almost a million people will have been out of work for more than a year by the end of 2012.