Small rise in unemployment in West Midlands as wage growth stumbles
Rates of unemployment in the West Midlands have increased slightly while wage growth has fallen nationally to its lowest level for more than five years as the jobs market remains under pressure, official figures have shown.
Monthly job stats for the region published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also show a slight decrease in the rate of employment and a rise in inactivity.
For the three months from November to January 2026, the percentage of people aged 16 or over who were unemployed was 6.1 per cent, an increase of 0.2 per cent over the same period.
A total of 73.3 per cent of 16-to-64-year-olds in the West Midlands were in work, a drop of 0.4 per cent on the three months from August to October. The inactivity rate among 16-to-64-year-olds was 21.8 per cent, an increase of 0.3 per cent over the same quarterly period.
The ONS data also said wage growth had fallen nationally to its lowest level for more than five years.
