The loss of any more public sector jobs across Shropshire will be a disaster for the county’s economy bringing with it a vicious downturn in the economy, union officials claimed today.

The Shropshire and Telford Trades Council says it is dismayed about a recent forecast of large scale job losses from the West Midlands Regional Observatory.

A report by the observatory claimed 2,000 public sector jobs could be lost in Shrewsbury and Oswestry alone by 2016 although Shropshire Council has stressed it has no plans for large-scale redundancies.

The Observatory, which provides economic data and intelligence about the West Midlands Region, says a result of public sector job cuts 6,000 private sector jobs could be lost in Shrewsbury over time due to reduced demand in the local economy.

This would lead to a reduced demand for public transport, car parking, nurseries and creches, food outlets and pubs and bars, it says.

Brett Davis, president of the county’s trades council, said: “This report shows a direct link between the loss of public sector jobs and the resulting effect on the local economy.

“If people have less money to spend the local economy will suffer, affecting the council’s ability to collect business rates from shops which have gone out of business.

“It’s a terribly demoralising economic vicious circle for everyone concerned.”

Mr Davis said the report also showed that with half of staff qualified to degree level or above, the public sector had been a key source of higher skilled jobs.

Nationally the government has announced it wants to make £83 billion worth of cuts in public sector spending, forecast to lead to the loss of up to 600,000 public sector jobs over the next six years.

The Observatory has said this will lead to a knock-on effect for organisations dependent on funding from the public sector.

Keith Barrow, leader of Shropshire Council, which employs 6,500 people, said: “We have no plans in Shropshire to make any large-scale redundancies.

“Indeed we have been praised by the Government for the way we are transforming our services to better meet the needs of our residents. It is not in the public interest to make mass redundancies, because it costs the council money and damages the local economy.”

See also:

• Shropshire Council chief rejects idea of large-scale redundancies