Unemployment rises with more claiming in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Powys

The Office for National Statistics said the rate of UK unemployment lifted to 4.4 per cent in the three months to April, up from 4.3 per cent in the three months to March.

The latest increase defied expectations for the jobless rate to remain unchanged and sees it reach the highest level since July to September 2021.

For the West Midlands the rate was 5.1 per cent with the employment rate at 73.9 per cent compared to 74.3 per cent nationally.

Vacancies also dropped sharply once again, down 12,000 to 904,000 in the three months to May, marking the 23rd fall in a row.

But the figures showed regular earnings growth remained unchanged at six per cent in the three months to April and continued to outstrip price rises – up 2.9 per cent when taking Consumer Prices Index inflation into account, which is the highest since the three months to August 2021.

The ONS said: "This month's figures continue to show signs that the labour market may be cooling, with the number of vacancies still falling and unemployment rising, though earnings growth remains relatively strong."

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits last month, including Universal Credit, was 1,629,190 – 3.9 per cent of the working population.

For the West Midlands the rate was 5.1 per cent with 187,475 claiming. It was up 2,585 on April.

Telford and Wrekin had a rise of 190 to 4,375 to 3.8 per cent with Shropshire also up 180 to 4,550 (2.4 per cent).

In Powys claimants increased by 105 to 1,840 (2.4 per cent).

Jane Gratton, deputy director of public policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "There are further signs that the labour market is cooling as vacancies continue to fall and unemployment ticks up. However, this has yet to translate into any noticeable weakening of growth in real wages.

"This would suggest that competition for skills is still strong, and the substantial cost pressures of wages and interest rates will continue for longer. The rise in the number of economically inactive is also a cause for concern.

"The BCC's election manifesto is clear that better skills planning is needed across the UK to boost productivity and growth. We must improve the training of staff, unlock the talent of people who have stopped looking for work and find ways to support the long-term sick back into employment.

"Getting the strong economic growth we all want to see will only be possible when the skills and workplace challenges are resolved."

The next set of inflation figures will come just before the Bank's June 20 rates decision.

Jake Finney, economist at PwC UK, said: "The latest ONS data presents a headache for the Bank of England.

"A broad set of indicators suggests that the labour market is cooling but pay growth has not fallen to the extent they would like to see."

But he added that there remains "considerable uncertainty" over the ONS unemployment figures, as the statistics body continues to overhaul its labour force survey due to low response rates, with the full revamped version not due to be introduced until September.

More timely data from HM Revenue & Customs provided further evidence of a cooling jobs market, with the number of UK workers on payrolls falling 3,000 to 30.3 million in May, though this is subject to revision.

The latest ONS figures also showed another increase in the inactivity rate, with 22.3 per cent of those aged between 16 and 64 not actively looking for work.

There were an estimated 17,000 working days lost to strike action across the UK in April, the ONS added.