Business leaders in Birmingham and Solihull welcome the fall in unemployment figures for the West Midlands, but state that the government's priorities should be to create an environment that allows businesses to create more jobs.

Commenting on the labour market figures published today by the ONS, Katie Teasdale, head of policy at Birmingham and Solihull Chamber of Commerce (BCI), said: "If we are going to avoid a jobless recovery, then the government needs to include initiatives such as cancelling the 2011 one per cent rise in national insurance contributions.

"The latest figures may still reflect seasonal employment and we will be interested in seeing if this decrease is sustained.  

"Unemployment in the West Midlands is still one of the highest in the country and presents a serious challenge, as it is anticipated that the figures will rise in future months.

"We are also concerned that the level of economically inactive people has increased and that long-term unemployment - those out of work for more than a year - figures, have increased by 29,000 to 631,000, which is the highest figure since 1997. Both of these issues need to be tackled.