Unemployment continues to defy the reported double dip recession, falling nationally and across Birmingham. Acocks Green is now showing a year on year fall – one of four wards in Birmingham to do so.

Nationally the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 5.6% to 5.5% in April, while in Birmingham it fell from 12.6% to 12.4%. Our city’s unemployment rate, while still painfully high, has now fallen narrowly below Liverpool’s, so is currently slipping down the core cities league which is topped by Manchester and Nottingham.

In Acocks Green the unadjusted monthly unemployment figure fell by 46 to 1,152 (or 10.2%), which is down 18 on a year ago. The other wards to show an annual fall are Hall Green, Harborne and Stockland Green. By comparison the worst performing wards are Aston and Sparkbrook which both show rises of over 150 over the year.