Pictured above: Christine Braddock

Businesses across the West Midlands were "greatly encouraged" by the fall in the region's unemployment figures, announced yesterday.

Statistics from the Office for National Statistics showed that unemployment fell by 28,000 to 235,000 in the West Midlands leaving 8.8 per cent out of work. But the region was behind only London, the North East and Yorkshire/Humber.

Christine Braddock, president of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group, said: "These figures, although still extremely challenging, are greatly encouraging.

"The next quarterly economic survey from the Chamber is expected to suggest that both the manufacturing and service sectors are doing well in the export market. This clearly demonstrates that companies which are prepared to look for new markets and diversify will come through these difficult times.

"Investment intentions are believed to have increased significantly in the manufacturing sector, which indicates businesses are more prepared to put money back into their operations with the inevitable boost to employment."

The national figures, which show unemployment falling by 88,000, indicate that employers are increasingly prepared to take on new staff, said Mike Ashton, spokesman for West Midlands Chambers of Commerce.

He added: "Early signs suggest the strategy of reducing public sector employment, cutting the deficit and removing some of the burdens of doing business are beginning to pay dividends as the private sector starts to create more jobs, despite the challenging economic climate."