Britain’s resurgent jobs market is being led by cities and towns in the North and Midlands, according to new research by global job site Indeed and the Centre for Cities think tank.

Hiring gathered pace after the government's reopening roadmap was announced on 22 February but new analysis shows job growth is unevenly spread across the country.

Indeed and the Centre for Cities analysed job vacancies in 63 cities and large towns and found that in some parts of the country job postings now exceed their pre-pandemic level with those in the North and Midlands having so far witnessed the strongest recovery in job postings.

In total, nine cities or towns – led by Barnsley (+21%), Mansfield (20%) and Stoke (17%) – now have more job postings than before the pandemic started.

In contrast, Aberdeen (-53%), Belfast (-39%) and Crawley (-39%) are the three places where job postings have recovered the least, together with other cities and large towns predominantly in the South East of England.

London too is among the places with the slowest recovery: job postings in the capital are still 26% below their level before the pandemic, making it the 11th city with the slowest recovery.

The improving jobs landscape in the North and Midlands is partly driven by the mix of available jobs. Recoveries have been strongest in areas with a greater pre-pandemic share of postings in occupations related to the production and distribution of goods, such as manufacturing, driving and loading & stocking, as well as essential services like healthcare, social care and education.

On the other hand, places with a higher share of pre-pandemic job opportunities in food & beverage service and hospitality & tourism are lagging behind.

New analysis of claimant counts and job vacancies points to which jobs markets were hardest hit by Covid-19 and might take longest to return to their February 2020 level.

Places with high claimant count and low job postings include Brighton, Crawley, Slough as well as London in the south and Blackpool and Manchester in the north. These cities and large towns -- which have a dependency on tourism and bustling workplaces -- are the hardest hit by the pandemic as recruitment activity is lagging and more people are looking for jobs.

In contrast, places with low claimant count rates and whose job postings have mostly recovered to their pre-pandemic level - such as Mansfield, Swansea and Warrington - appeared to have been relatively sheltered from the economic impact of Covid-19.

Pawel Adrjan, head of EMEA research at the global job site Indeed, comments:

“As hiring activity picks up across the country it’s clear there is a two-step jobs recovery underway in Britain.

“Cities and towns in the North and Midlands that have been buoyed by rising manufacturing, distribution, healthcare and education jobs but at the same time areas reliant on hospitality, tourism and higher paying jobs that can be performed from home have seen only sluggish growth.

“Just nine urban areas out of 63 have back above their pre-pandemic level and while the partial reopening of the economy earlier this month rode to the rescue of many businesses and workers our research shows that it alone was not enough to lift ailing area’s jobs levels significantly.

“We’ve seen how quickly the jobs market reacts to policy and public health announcements and policy makers will hope the eventual unwinding of Covid-19 restrictions will help level up the jobs recovery.”

Elena Magrini, senior analyst at the Centre for Cities, said: “Not everywhere is seeing yet the beginnings of post-pandemic recovery. Places reliant on tourism, aviation and office workers have been particularly hard hit and still have high shares of people who are unemployed or on furlough.

“Despite this, we have reasons to be optimistic, particularly given the pace of the recovery in the North and Midlands. Once we have reopened the economy, policy makers need to focus on building back better – growing the economy by creating better paid, higher skilled jobs for people right across the country.”

Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals, says: “The resilience of the housing market in the face of coronavirus has seen house prices repeatedly hit new highs, and we expect this trend to continue in the coming months.

“There is the danger that first-time buyers could be increasingly priced out of the market, and this government scheme goes some way towards helping young people. 

“The work of employment has changed beyond recognition during Covid, and first-time buyers who can work from home could use this opportunity to find themselves a home in a cheaper part of the country.

“Do shop around if you’re tempted by taking out a 95% mortgage, as some of the rates on offer for a two-year fixed deal are 3.9% - more than 2% higher than the cheapest deals on the market.

“It is also worth checking whether the property you have your eye on is suitable for one of these new mortgages, as Halifax and Barclays have said that new-build properties will not fall under the scheme.

“While this is good news for property owners and first-time buyers, these measures could be like pouring gasoline on a roaring fire, potentially propelling house prices to higher and higher heights into the summer.”

It is the fourth year of this exciting, annual two-week event, which this year will run from 4 to 15 October.

Event organisers will be able to choose how to run their events. Although it is hoped that in-person events will have resumed by October, the digital route is also an option again and may still be preferred by many.  Last year’s Business Festival was predominantly on-line and successfully saw 96 registered events and nearly 900 businesses involved, despite taking place in the height of the pandemic.

The Black Country Business Festival remains one of the largest and most established business events in the region and BCBF2021 is predicted to have a strong impact as the country emerges from the pandemic.

This year will see some changes to the structure. New themes have been established, which represent key areas within the Black Country that have either thrived or been impacted over the recent months, or where support and assistance can be offered to businesses to help them bounce back. 

The new themes are:

·         Inclusive Growth - to include events such as leadership, selection and recruitment, diversity, HR, sustainability in the workplace, training, mental health, education etc.

·         Innovation – covering manufacturing, vehicles, strategies, dealing with the impact of COVID 19, collaborations etc.

·         Business Growth – exploring such elements as support, training, education, legal, finance, bounding back after Brexit, marketing and advertising.

·         ‘This is the Black Country’ – events which place the region at the forefront including for example, created and made by local businesses, tourism, arts, culture, leisure etc.

·         Regeneration – where development and growth is key, covering retail, office space, transport, construction, zero carbon economy events etc.

As well as fitting into the themes, events must fulfil certain criteria to be able to take part. Each event application will be assessed and scored on how well it meets the conditions set. 

Corin Crane, chief executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce said, “Black Country businesses have faced the most challenging time over the last year, but the Festival remains a constant feature in the calendar and will certainly offer a variety of opportunities to reboot and reconnect.

“This year we have taken steps to develop the BCBF by bringing in new themes and a process to assess the event applications. This will help us to ensure the events are of the highest quality so the Festival remains beneficial to the business community as well as meeting the objectives that it was originally set up to achieve.”

The application form along with information on the criteria, application process and themes will be available on the BCBF website from Wednesday 28 April.

The final deadline to submit event applications is Friday 13th August 2021.

The eSkootr Championship (eSC) has announced its first Global Sustainability Partnership with world-leading materials technology and recycling group Umicore.

The partnership will see Umicore develop and implement a circular design strategy for batteries used in the eSkootr series with the ambitious aim of applying potential insights to the real world of micromobility products and services.

The partnership will also use the promotional platform of the new sport to deliver educational programmes and advocacy campaigns for a new generation of mobility consumers demanding a more equitable and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.

Umicore will work closely with the eSC Commission and its team of sustainability, technical and policy experts in the implementation of the partnership, ensuring that best practice on battery recyclability is dialled into the rulebook of the sport from the outset.

Hrag Sarkissian, eSkootr Championship CEO said: “We recognise and applaud Umicore’s strong commitment to cleaner mobility through new technologies and techniques. The use and reuse of battery materials at every point in the value chain has enormous implications for micromobility. We’re excited that Umicore shares eSC’s vision for the series as an innovation lab for knowledge transfer in this vitally important area.”

Chair of the eSC Commission Sustainability Working Group, Dr Cristiana Pace,  added: “Our Umicore partnership underlines how important circular design is for eSC and the meaningful and measurable achievement of our environmental mission. Although a new sport, eSC is already demonstrating its robust approach to sustainability through the programmes and partnerships it’s developing. I’m thrilled that Umicore is joining us on this new journey.”

Tom Van Bellinghen, VP OEM Sales and Marketing at Umicore Rechargeable Battery Materials said: "We are excited to be the first Global Sustainability Partner of eSC, the world’s first eSkootr Championship™. As a key player in rechargeable battery materials, Umicore is a proud contributor to a sustainable battery value chain. We strongly support eSC’s commitment to a net-zero carbon footprint in this exciting clean mobility solution and we look forward to sharing our expertise related to a closed battery loop design with eSC’s sustainability team."

A landmark development scheme for Digbeth has been unlocked thanks to investment of over £5 million from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). Stone Yard will deliver 995 homes on 1.37 hectares of brownfield land in the centre of Birmingham with work set to start on site in 2022.

The deal announced will pay for the clean-up of the site, which has stood vacant in recent years, so it can be brought forward for residential development. The scheme will include 20% affordable housing, using the WMCA’s unique definition of affordability, which is linked to real world local wages rather than property prices.

The investment has been made possible under the WMCA’s ‘brownfield first’ policy, which unlocks derelict industrial sites for new development, helping to protect green belt land in the process. Within a five-minute walk of the future Curzon Street HS2 Station and a number of existing rail links including Moor Street Station, the new development has excellent transports links and is located in the heart of Digbeth.

Known as Stone Yard, the project is the largest ‘build to rent’ scheme in Birmingham and built across seven blocks, with the tallest standing at 32 storeys, offering new residents fantastic views of the city skyline. Without this critical investment by the WMCA, using housing and land funds it has secured from Government, the Stone Yard scheme could not have proceeded. 

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and chair or the WMCA, said: “It really is brilliant news that another 995 homes on brownfield land are to be built in the region, creating more local jobs and helping to protect precious greenbelt land.

“I am particularly pleased that this development is in Digbeth, which is undergoing a radical transformation. With new housing, HS2, an expanded Midland Metro, the BBC relocation, and Stephen Knight’s film studios all on the way – along with so, so much more - Digbeth is fast becoming one of the real jewels of the West Midlands.

“Despite the pandemic the WMCA has continued to use the money we have secured from Government to unlock and transform brownfield sites, helping to build new high-quality homes that people need whilst protecting precious greenbelt land. That is exactly what we are doing once again with this Stone Yard development.” The multi-million-pound investment, from the WMCA’s Land Fund, will support the construction of a range of much needed housing types alongside amenity space for residents.

Councillor Mike Bird, WMCA portfolio holder for housing and land and leader of Walsall Council, said: “Stone Yard will be one of the largest projects the WMCA has supported to date.

“It’s regeneration is the latest in a series of WMCA investments that have continued throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, helping to provide market confidence and put in place the building blocks required to drive the region’s post-Covid economic recovery plans. The proposals will regenerate a key city centre brownfield site bringing much needed homes and helping to complete the regeneration of the southern side of High Street, Deritend, historically used for trade counters and car dealerships.”

Hundreds of local construction jobs will be created throughout the building phase and on completion the housing operator will become a new employer in the region, bringing in staff to manage the buildings. The scheme will be built around two landscaped courtyards and is being led by Birmingham- based residential developer Court Collaboration. The housing is designed by Glancy Nicholls Architects, alongside services consultant Couch Perry Wilkes and structural engineer CWA.

Anthony McCourt, CEO of Court Collaboration, said: “We’re delighted to have secured this investment from the WMCA and look forward to starting on site in the coming months.

“The Stone Yard is one of several fantastic developments coming forward in the heart of Birmingham and we’re immensely proud to be at the forefront of ambitious, innovative and thoroughly modern development in our beloved city.” The Stone Yard will also include around 30,000 sq ft of commercial space for uses such as a gym, cinema and co-working space.

With planning permission already given, the project is aimed to complete by 2026. The scheme will deliver transformational placemaking, affordable housing and innovative construction techniques. It will also address growing city centre housing demand with mixed tenure options.

Stone Yard will provide the opportunity to utilise modern methods of construction alongside the WMCA’s new Design Charter, ensuring quality design is embedded in all WMCA funded projects.

Hundreds of Stoke-on-Trent residents are backing calls for the City Council to work solely with companies that pay ​full sick pay to care staff ​that need to take time off work because of Covid, says UNISON today (Tuesday). 

More than 400 people have signed a UNISON petition calling on councillors to ​better support staff who’ve battled to keep vulnerable ​and elderly people safe for the past year, UNISON says. The petition is to be delivered to the Civic Centre at noon tomorrow (Wednesday)*. 

More than thirty local care providers are only paying staff £96.35 a week if they need to isolate, the bare minimum the law allows, adds UNISON. This is despite local care employers receiving more than £6m from the Council to make sure low-paid staff aren’t out of pocket. ​

The cash is from the government’s £1.3bn social care infection control fund, specifically created to compensate low-paid staff, UNISON says.

Among the petition supporters are Stoke FC personality Neil ‘Nello’ Baldwin, who’s backing the call for fair pay, says UNISON.  

UNISON Staffordshire community health assistant branch secretary Steve Jones said: “Care workers putting their health and that of their families on the line deserve more than the shabby treatment they’ve received from some employers. 

“The people of Stoke want the Council to do more to support care staff and make sure they don’t lose out financially for doing the right thing.   

“The Council must act now to make it a contractual requirement for all commissioned care employers to pay care workers their normal wages when they have to self-isolate. Payments must be backdated so staff ​don't lose out for keeping the people they care for safe.”