Institute of Directors West Midlands chairman John Rider has warmly welcomed the fall in regional unemployment.
Commenting on the latest figures released by the Office of National Statistics, he said: “It is down on both main measures which has rarely been the case in recent months, so that is good news, especially coming before Christmas.
“Indeed, with the wider economy still very much under pressure, the reduction is somewhat unexpected. Nevertheless it shows how resilient is the West Midlands economy.
“The question must be – can this improvement be maintained into the New Year. That may prove a much harder task, but let’s hope so.
“There has been too much delay surrounding implementation of Government economic initiatives and I would still urge them to go faster so the jobs momentum can be kept up.”