Work-life balance struggle for Shropshire

The Good Growth for Cities index from accounting giant PriceWaterhouse Coopers and think tank Demos looked at 10 key measures of the region's work-life balance, and compared six Midlands cities and all the region's Local Enterprise Partnership Areas.

The results for the Marches, which is comprised of Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Herefordshire, suggest that while the number of people in work has grown in the last three years, the region is falling short in other areas.

The study looks at factors including jobs, income, health, work-life balance, house prices relative to earnings, transport, skills, income distribution and environment.

Since the 2011-13 period the Marches has outstripped the national average only in jobs. It has matched averages in most other sectors, but has fallen behind on health, house prices relative to earnings, skills and income distribution, suggesting a growing divide between the richest and poorest people in the county.

The figures, covering the period between 2012 and 2014, place the Marches in 27th place among the country's 39 LEP areas for its overall work-life balance.

Since the height of the financial crash in 2008, the number of people on the dole in Shropshire has fallen by more than two thirds and is now at a record low level.

But it is in the other areas that the county is generating some concern.

Graham Wynn, chairman of the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "The Marches LEP was created to to drive economic growth and the creation of sustainable private sector jobs.

"Therefore we are delighted to see that the report scores the Marches as one of only six which performs above average in terms of job creation and that we have seen the third fastest rise in employment in the last two years of all the Midlands regions.

"There is work to do on skills, and we are working with partners, education and training providers and employers on projects which will help to address this.

"In addition, we are working closely with other LEPs to develop the Midlands Engine – an economic strategy to raise the long-term growth rate of the entire Midlands region, including the Marches.

"This aspires to create significant numbers of extra jobs, deliver investment in transport infrastructure and put skills at the heart of the economic revival."

He also suggested that the comparison between cities and rural areas did not tell the whole story, and that work being carried out this year could help to address some of the issues in the report, which covers the period between 2012 and 2014.

One of the areas of concern highlighted by the report was house prices, which appear to have outpaced earnings growth in the last three years. At the beginning of this year figures from Nationwide suggested that prices had increased by 19 per cent over the course of the previous decade.

Wages, however, struggled to keep pace with inflation before this year.

Bill Brookes, of county estate agents DB Roberts, said increasing demand was adding to house prices in the county, but that conditions remained favourable for buyers thanks to the availability of credit.

"Lenders are offering much better rates," he said. "You can get a 95 per cent mortgage as a first-time buyer for an interest rate that starts with a three.

"That's against pay generally rising, which means people can afford to push prices that bit, but as with everything it depends on which location you're talking about."

Housing

As with the rest of the country, Shropshire has experienced strong growth in property prices since the housing market began to rocket in 2012.

While employment has been improving over that period, in the main wages have failed to keep pace with inflation – at least before they began to take off as inflation fell to around zero this year.

Still pressure remains on prices, with plenty of buyers for every property and more freely available credit, meaning that the scramble for every available property makes each unaffordable.

Those who are selling are usually looking for a new property of their own, also, meaning that whatever benefit they may derive from the higher prices is extinguished once they begin to search for their new home.

The most recent national data from Halifax shows house prices accelerated by another 9.7 per cent in the 12 months to October, with a typical UK property now shifting for £205,240, with wages lagging well behind.

Jobs

The rise of employment in Shropshire has been one of the county's great success stories over the last few years.

At the peak of the recession in April 2009, 4,939 people were on the dole in Telford & Wrekin. When Shropshire hit its lowest point, in February 2010, 5,379 people were claiming Jobseekers' Allowance.

Now both authorities are hailing a record low number of people on the dole, with 1,321 people signing on in Telford and 1,500 people in Shropshire.

Those numbers are expected to fall further when the next round of statistics are released this Wednesday.

Retailers are now preparing to bring in temporary staff in preparation for the Christmas rush which is looming large on the landscape.

The most recent benefit figures have shown that festive recruitment has already begun, but the upturn in the economy has seen jobs created in areas such as care and manufacturing too.

Skills

One of the biggest headaches for employers in Shropshire is finding the right people with the skills they need to make the business tick.

While it has been the shining light of the region's economy, JLR's new engine plant has also led to a reduction in the availability of skilled engineers in particular.

That has led companies into confessing they are struggling to find the right people.

In Shropshire Chamber of Commerce's most recent quarterly economic survey of local employers, more than three quarters said they had faced difficulty finding the right people to fill their vacancies, heightening concerns that businesses are now fishing in a depleted pool when trying to capitalise on an improving economic landscape.

Various measures have been introduced to try to combat the issue, including the launch of a new engineering academy at Salop Design's home in Shrewsbury, and the Shropshire Star-backed Ladder for Shropshire apprenticeships campaign.

Transport

Transport. It's one of the biggest bugbears about life in Shropshire.

Whether you're a commuter crammed into a two-carriage train through the county on a morning, a driver attempting to navigate between two big towns along a spider's web of roads, or a bus user waiting hours for their ride, life can be frustrating for those trying to simply get around.

It's encouraging to see that we are not alone. We have matched other parts of the country in the development of our transport networks, and the Marches LEP says that the money it has secured will help to improve our local links.

The addition of a direct rail route to London was one big boon for local transport during the period, however.

Further plans are afoot to boost transport, including the LEP's investment in road infrastructure, future plans to upgrade the A5 and build the North West Relief Road in Shrewsbury, and to connect the M54 to the M6 Toll.

Health

Among the areas of concern in PwC's index is the fact that people in Shropshire are not as healthy as in other parts of the country.

With the fresh air and vitality that comes from being in such a beautiful landscape, one would imagine that people in the county were in the rudest of health compared with those who are cramped into the centre of cities, yet that appears not to be the case. The issue of health is one that crops up time and time again, and the future of A&E services in the county is of paramount importance.

One of the biggest draws for people considering moving to Shropshire is the promise of clean air, idyllic rural living, and a long and healthy life stretching out before them.

If this study is to be believed, then one of the greatest attractions of life in the county is losing its lustre – and it's an issue about which we should all be concerned.

Ali Breadon, head of PwC's Government and Public Sector team in the Midlands, added: "Improved employment figures and some growth in real household disposable income were the main drivers of improvement in our 2015 index.

"However, in some parts of the region, this has impacted on housing affordability, commuting times and work-life balance, offsetting part of the gains from economic recovery in our overall good growth index."

Matt Hammond, regional chairman of PwC in the Midlands, said: "The Good Growth index sends a clear message that there's more to life than GDP.

"Growing the Midlands economy and creating sustainable employment relies on a vibrant and confident private sector investing in cities and regions offering high-level skills, competitive operating costs and a world-class infrastructure.

"The challenge in achieving good growth in the region is to get the balance right between investment and reform and maintain a clear focus on driving economic growth and delivering better value public services.

"There is no silver bullet to delivering good growth, but in this new era of decentralisation and regional opportunity, doing nothing is not an option."