Credit crunch hell for the West Midlands

May 29 2009

The West Midlands will feel some of the worst fall-out from the recession as it spreads to hit the UK's industrial heartland, a report has said.

Information company Experian said manufacturers will shed more than 350,000 jobs between now and mid-2010.

The Midlands and the North of England will be worst hit, it said, as there is a greater proportion of unskilled labour in lower-paid manufacturing jobs.

Since July 2007, 4% of manufacturing companies have disappeared from the West and East Midlands, Wales and Yorkshire.

The construction sector in the North West and West Midlands has also lost 4% of its firms.

This compares with UK businesses overall failing by 2% and the London financial sector seeing 3% of firms disappear since July 2007.

The financial stress of a recession is also affecting the region, with more than 120,000 people in the West Midlands declared insolvent or incurring a county court judgment in 2008 - 2.87% of the adult population.

Charlotte Hogg, Experian UK's managing director, said: "Contrary to what some people initially thought, our analysis shows that this is certainly not going to be solely a middle-class recession.

"Whilst the epicentre was in London and the South East, the biggest aftershocks are being felt in the UK's traditional industrial heartlands - where businesses and communities are not necessarily as well equipped to handle its effects and bounce back to recovery."