Pictured above: Will Rogers
Business leaders in the West Midlands said the rise in
employment figures is a false dawn.
Will Rogers, policy adviser at Birmingham Chamber Group said
figures suggest the rise in employment may be primarily down to
economically inactive people, such as students, finding work,
rather than unemployed people getting jobs.
He said: "It is more important to note that the jobseekers
allowance claimant count has risen and will undoubtedly rise more
with proposed public sector cuts.
"West Midlands companies may not be strong enough to compensate
for the 600,000 public sector jobs expected to go over the next
five years. There are 636,900 public sector jobs in our
region, which is 27 per cent of the total.
"If local authorities were to cut at least 20 per cent of their
budgets, we could be looking at approximately 127,380 jobs being
lost in the region.
"This is on top of the job losses already announced at Advantage
West Midlands, and potentially others at the Government Office of
the West Midlands - it all adds up to an extremely gloomy picture
for consumers and business confidence.".