According to the results of a study based on official figures, big cities outside London have seen the most job losses in the past 12 months.

The worst rise can be seen in the Midlands, in Birmingham, where the number of people unemployed and seeking benefits for this, rose from 5.3% to 7.3%.

They also found that the likes of Leeds, Glasgow, Sheffield, Hull, Manchester, Bradford, Kirklees, Liverpool and Bristol also saw a big jump in the number of unemployed.

The Work Foundation conducted the study, using official figures covering the 12 months leading up to February of this year.

Policymakers Ignoring Local Problems

They saw that the most increases of unemployment were found in the North of the country, but also the West, the Midlands, and Scotland suffered a lot as these areas are dominated by the manufacturing industry.

The major player however, was Birmingham. The number of people collecting jobseekers allowance here has risen from 33,274 people in February of 2008 to 45,657 people this February.

However, the biggest increases in terms of percentages comes in council areas which saw no benefits of the ‘boom’ in the economy before the recession began. For example, those in Wear Valley saw an increase from 2.9% jobseekers to 6.2%.

According to Naomi Clayton, a senior researcher at the Work Foundation: “Policymakers ignore how recessions play out locally at their peril.

“It is to be hoped that the forthcoming Budget focuses more attention on the large cities – Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham –that can drive the recovery, as well as recognising which areas need the most support to survive and prepare for better times.”

What Previous Statistics Have To Say

In March, the unemployment rate in the whole of the UK rose to over 2 million, the highest it has been since 1997 according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In February this year, those claiming jobseekers allowance in the UK reached record highs of around 1.39 million people.

The ONS has also found that between November and January, the rate of unemployment rose by 6.5% in total.

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