The Office for National Statistics (ONS) regional presence in the West Midlands has been hosted at the West Midlands Regional Observatory since April 2007.
ONS are here to provide data, analysis and advice specifically for the West Midlands and aim to be the first point of contact for statistical enquiries.
The Regional Statistician, Anthony Szary, is assisted by the Research Analyst, Stuart Onyeche.
The West Midlands team is one of nine based in each of the English regions working in close partnership with the Regional Development Agencies and Observatories, established following the Review of Statistics for Economic Policymaking carried out by Christopher Allsopp.
Several key functions for the Regional Statistics team include:
- Providing a first point of contact for ONS users within the West Midlands.
- Providing independent advice to regional users on ONS and wider Government Statistical Service (GSS) statistics including on technical issues.
- Providing wider access to ONS/GSS data to regional partners.
- Facilitating training for regional partners on, for instance, economic statistics.
- Gathering intelligence to help improve the quality of ONS data and processes, particularly relating to regional Gross Value Added (GVA).
- Assessing, or assisting in the assessment of, locally commissioned or locally held data.
- Advising ONS in its decision-making by acting as a focus to feed views through from regional bodies.
The team also devotes around a quarter of their time working with regional partners on collaborative projects.
Coinciding with the April 2007 launch, ONS published Changing Regional Economies (PDF, 686KB) reports for each English region. Each report provides a profile of the relevant region and presents a range of statistics that help to understand differences between regions.
Within regions, comparisons are made between sub-regions and between rural and urban areas. Regional statistics in the context of the European Structural Funds are discussed, followed by a look-ahead at the developments in regional statistics expected as a result of the Allsopp programme.
Statistical Highlights from the ONS: September 2008 to November 2008
Annual Survey of Hours & Earnings (April 2008)
Issued November 2008
In April 2008, the median gross weekly earnings for full time employee jobs in the United Kingdom was £479, an increase of 4.6% year-on-year. Earnings grew more for men (up 4.6% to £521), than women (up 4.4% to £412), and hence the gender gap in full-hourly earnings has increased from 12.5% in 2007, to 12.8% in the latest figures.
In the West Midlands region, the median gross weekly earnings for full time employee jobs was £449, and was ranked fifth amongst the nine English regions. Earnings for women were up 2.6% to £379, a smaller increase than for men's earnings (up 4.6% to £489), and a smaller increase than women across the UK received as an average.
London and the South East were the English regions which recorded the highest average earnings, at £613 and £500 respectively, whilst the North East had the lowest at £421.
Read the full report » (PDF, 122KB)
Labour Market Statistics
Issued November 2008
Across the United Kingdom, the Unemployment Rate stood at 5.8% (1.83 million) for the months July-September 2008. This represented an increase of 0.4 percentage points quarter-on-quarter and 0.5 percentage points year-on-year.
In the West Midlands region, the Unemployment Rate stood at 6.5% (170,000) during the same period, an increase of 0.2 percentage points quarter-on-quarter and 0.1 percentage points year-on-year.
Read the full report » (PDF, 332KB)
Economic & Labour Market Review: Regional Economic Indicators with a focus on skills
Issued November 2008
This article runs through most of the key economic indicators used for regional comparisons, providing a useful resource for reference. Some of the findings of previous studies are replicated here, such as data which illustrates that the West Midlands is the English region with the highest proportion of its population with no qualifications, and that the region is now ranked the third lowest English region in regards to the proportion of over 19 year olds with a qualification at NVQ Level 2 or above.
Read the full article » (PDF, 466KB)
Life Expectancy at Birth for children born 2005 to 2007
Issued October 2008
Children born in the West Midlands during 2005-7 had the joint fourth lowest life expectancy amongst the nine English regions, at 76.9 years for males and 81.4 years for females. This represented an increase on the life expectancy of those born in 1991-3 of 3.7 years for males, and 2.7 years for females, indicating the gender life expectancy gap has narrowed. Children born in the South East and South West have the highest life expectancy, and those in the North East the lowest.
Read the full report » (PDF, 921KB)