“Today’s small drop in unemployment rates masks the damaging growth of under-employment plaguing the country and stifling economic recovery”, warned Ravi Subramanian, regional secretary for UNISON in the West Midlands.
Mr Subramanian, went on to say: “The national figures also mask the distress inflicted upon the people in the West Midlands.
“This month, once again, our region has suffered the highest number of people losing their jobs, 18,000 more now have to rely on benefits. This upward trend pushes our regional unemployment figure up to 270,000, which is way above the national average.
“This is compounded by a toxic combination of a part-time, minimum wage and zero-hours working which is spreading across the country, as decently paid, full-time opportunities become increasingly rare.
“And for young people desperate to get their first job these are distressing times – getting the work experience they need to get a start in life is becoming virtually impossible.
“The West Midlands deserves better – the government needs to wake up to the damage that its cuts and austerity politics are having, blighting the future of a whole generation and damaging our long-term social and economical stability.”
The West Midlands unemployment figures between April and June stand at 272,000 people, that is an additional 18,000 people out of work claiming benefit. The regional unemployment figure is 9.9%. The national average remains at 7.8%
