Jobless rise ‘sets off no alarm bells’

UNEMPLOYMENT rose at the start of 2017 in Warwickshire, latest figures show.

In the month to January, the claimant count jumped from from 3,505 to 3,705. It follows several consecutive months of the figure falling.

The announcement of the most recent figures has been has been described as a concern by business leaders, but who have also said it should set no alarm bells ringing.

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, who is pictured right, said: “It’s a concerning rise and it’s something we must certainly keep a very close watch on in the coming weeks and months.

“January does tend to see an increase because of the seasonal jobs growth in the run up to Christmas and, only last month, we were highlighting that unemployment had halved in four years. So we shouldn’t set alarm bells ringing just yet but, equally, we must make sure we monitor whether this becomes a trend.

“In our last Quarterly Economic Survey few businesses suggested they would be looking to shed staff in 2017 and many of our major employers are talking about increase staffing numbers.

“The economy of Warwickshire is strong and is performing well but we have to remember that there are a lot of pressures on businesses across the patch.”

Former president and chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America, Jonathan Browning, is to continue as chairman of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for another two years, it has been announced this week.