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BRUM'S "APPALLING" UNEMPLOYMENT

29-08-2007

Shocking figures unearthed by The Stirrer show that Birmingham has the three constituencies with the worst unemployment in the UK. Meriden MP and Tory Party chairman Caroline Spelman said that she was "appalled" by the news.

The details are contained in a research paper posted in the House of Commons Library a fortnight ago. No doubt the summer recess explains why it has so far escaped the gaze of MP's and journalists alike.

But what it reveals can not be brushed under the carpet. There are parts of the Second City whose residents are living in conditions of permanent recession.

The grim figures show that in Hodge Hill, the constituency of the Minister for the West Midlands Liam Byrne, 11.9% of the workforce are claiming jobseekers allowance.

This puts it on a par with traditional dole hotspot of Liverpool Riverside based in the city's docks area.

Roger Godsiff's Sparkbrook and Small Heath fares even worse, with an unemployment rate of 14.3% but the worst constituency in the country by some way is Clare Short's Ladywood, where almost one in five of the workforce (19.0%) can't get a job. Among men, the figure is 24.5%.

The statistics underline the region's growing gulf between affluent and less well off areas.

Erdington (8.3%), Perry Barr (8.3%) and Wolverhampton South East (8.3%) are all among the 20 worst areas for unemployment - Solihull by contrast has a figure of just 1.8%.

Spelman points to the decline of manufacturing, and says that in many inner city areas, "people lack the skill sets to enable them to switch careers. In the old days if you lost a job in a factory you would apply to another factory.

"But now the factories aren't there, and too many people don't have the education that allows them to apply for other jobs. We are losing 1,000 jobs a day in manufacturing."

She also pointed an accusing finger at the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.

"The jury is still out on how effective they are" she said.

"They certainly helped the workers who had lost their jobs at Longbridge, but maybe they took their eye off the ball in other areas."

The Stirrer notes that there are parts of the West Midlands which now have more people looking for work than the former steel towns of South Wales and the most rundown areas of Glasgow.

This after ten years of a Labour government which pledged to narrow the gap between rich and poor.

We also note the comments of Hall Green MP Steve McCabe recently who claimed that "Birmingham is booming".

No doubt, in some parts it is. But elsewhere, it's not "boom" but bust.

To see the full report click here (pdf file)