National seasonally adjusted unemployment rose slightly in January after a similarly small fall in December. The national level now stands at 5.1%. Birmingham’s seasonally adjusted rate remained at the December level of 11.4% (a year ago it was 12.5%). The unadjusted rate in Birmingham increased by 1,270 to 46,793 and now stands at 11.5%. Unadjusted unemployment usually rises in January, as temporary Christmas jobs come to an end.

True to form, unadjusted unemployment rose in all major UK cities. Birmingham continued the gradual relative improvement compared to other UK cities that I noted last month. Our unemployment level is now 0.2% below Liverpool’s and just 0.3% above Manchester’s. As I said last month this trend is likely to continue as manufacturing employment (of which we have more than average) grows healthily and public sector employment shrinks, as the huge public sector budget deficit is reduced.

In Acocks Green the unadjusted level of unemployment rose by 16 to 1,202 in January. This is 158 below the level of a year ago. Compared to other wards in Birmingham this is a relatively good performance – the average annual fall in Birmingham’s wards was 112. Handsworth Wood and Ladywood did worst and saw a rise in unemployment in the last 12 months, while the best performing wards were Shard End and Springfield, both with falls of 221.