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Though in decline since the 1990s, the manufacturing industry still plays a key role in the local economy here and accounts for roughly 16% of East Midlands gross value. But the sector, which generated about £15.3 billion in 1997, only produced £11.8 billion in 2010. During the same period, however, the public sector grew by 77%, while the number of employees in the finance and insurance industry more than doubled. Today, the region's top employers include Warwickshire-based Jaguar Land Rover, EON, Carillion Construction, and Redditch's prominent engineering firm, GKN.
Unfortunately, the expanding public and financial sectors have still been unable to keep pace with the decline in manufacturing. The Midlands has an 8.6% overall unemployment rate, and West Midlands (where more than 9% of residents are without work) is home to some of the lowest employment levels and average salaries in the UK. Birmingham - with median incomes hovering around £12,200 - is the lowest in the region, while average Solihull residents, who earn the most, make about £17,000.
In East Midlands, overall employment was at 71% in late 2011, but recruitment agencies have reported a resurgence in local employment options this year. Stratford-on-Avon and East Staffordshire, on the other hand, both enjoy substantial long-standing economic prosperity. And thanks to recent growth in the retail and banking sectors, unemployment levels in Birmingham are beginning to fall as demand for staff increases.