Mixed picture for unemployment

The latest unumployment figures present a mixed picture for the Midlands as a whole.

- Unemployment in the West Midlands fell by 1,000 in the three months to January
- a total of 241,000 people were unemployed between November 2011 and January 2012.
- Across the West Mids, 9.1% of the population is unemployed - a fall of 0.4%.

- Unemployment in the East Midlands increased by 5,000 in the three months to January
- a total of 187,000 people were unemployed between November 2011 and January 2012.
- Across the region 8.2% of the population is unemployed - a rise of 2.7% over the period

Nationally, the unemployment rate has increased to a near 17-year high after another rise in the jobless total to almost 2.7 million.

Other figures from the ONS showed that public sector employment fell by 37,000 in the final quarter of 2011 to just under six million, while the numbers employed in private firms increased by 45,000 to 23 million.

Youth unemployment increased by 16,000 to reach 1.04 million, a jobless rate of 22.5%.

The unemployment rate is now 8.4%, up by 0.1% from the previous quarter, the highest since the end of 1995.