Economic inclusion research « West Midlands Regional Observatory

Since summer 2008 we've undertaken research on economic inclusion to inform the West Midlands Economic Inclusion Panel.

We've produced a series of reports and resources, all available to download below. For more information, background and related resources, visit the web page associated with each project using the links in the table below.

Economic inclusion research publications and resources - at a glance
Project	Topic	Web page	Full report	Executive summary	Data	Charts
Analysis of worklessness	Baseline report 2009	View	View	View
	Annual report 2010	View	View			View
	Economic inclusion indicators 2008/9	View	View
Apprenticeships	Local Authority data packs	View
Spotlight reports summer 2009	Youth unemployment	View	View
	Mental health and employment		View
	BME employment		View
	Older people and economic inclusion		View
Demographic analysis June 2010	Multiple risk factors	View	View	View	View	View
Cost benefit analysis of welfare to work 2010	Cost benefit analysis of claimants moving into work	View	View
Cost benefit analysis of welfare to work 2010	Estimating the cost effectiveness of welfare to work interventions	View	View		View
Future prospects and demand for labour 2010	Future prospects for entry level employment	View	View	View
Future prospects and demand for labour 2010	Review of evidence on employers attitudes	View	View
Labour market monitoring 2008-2010	Latest unemployment statistics	View
	Interactive map	View
	Recession monitoring November 2009		View
Causes and dynamics of worklessness 2009	Causes and dynamics of worklessness	View	View	View
Causes and dynamics of worklessness 2009	Dynamics of worklessness	View	View

Endorsement of our economic inclusion research:

Here's a short video with Trudi Elliott, chair of the Economic Inclusion Panel, on the impact and value of our research:

Watch on viddler

Our projects

Apprenticeships data packs

Published 3 February 2011

We worked with the National Apprenticeships Service to develop an apprenticeship data pack for each local authority in the West Midlands. The packs consist of a dashboard and PowerPoint slides, and include information on the supply and demand of apprenticeships, vacancies, rates of attrition and the distirbution of apprenticeship opportunities.

More about this project »

Worklessness in the West Midlands: the impact of demographics and multiple risk factors

Published 7 June 2010

We examined the impact of demographics and multiple risk factors in determining an individual's chances of being workless. We looked at the impact of some of these risk factors—alone and in combination with each other—on the probability of worklessness in the West Midlands and England.

More about this project »

Read the full report (pdf, 1.1mb)

Future prospects for entry level employment

Published 23 November 2010

This research looks at the future demand for entry level jobs and those that might provide a step into employment for people who have been workless and out of the labour market for a long period, particularly those with low levels of skills. We look at which sectors are likely to provide opportunities for people who have been workless and which entry level jobs might provide the best opportunities for progression.

More about this project »

Read the full report (pdf, 420kb)

Measuring the cost-effectiveness of worklessness interventions

Published 10 August 2010

A review of the literature on evaluating cost-effectiveness of worklessness interventions. The aim of the review was to recommend a preferred approach for carrying out this type of evaluation that could be used across the West Midlands. The paper sets out the preferred approach and things to consider at each stage of an evaluation into the cost-effectiveness of a worklessness programme.

Read the full report (pdf, 464kb)

Accompanying resources and data available in xls, 190kb or Google Spreadsheets

Overview of West Midlands issues

Economic inclusion annual report 2010

Published 29 June 2010

An update to our baseline report identifying how worklessness issues in the West Midlands have changed, and to what extent long-term issues identified in the baseline report remain.

More about this project »

Read the full report (pdf, 929kb)

Economic inclusion baseline report

Published 27 March 2009

A comprehensive overview of economic inclusion and worklessness in the West Midlands.

More about this project »

Read the full report (pdf, 2.16mb)

Read the executive summary (pdf, 1.09mb)

Economic inclusion indicators

Published 11 March 2009

A series of indicators measuring the West Midlands' performance against a range of measures related to economic inclusion. The indicators were developed through the economic inclusion data group.

Download economic inclusion indicators poster (pdf, 265kb)

Spotlight reports

Our spotlight reports provide more detailed examination of several key issues identified in the baseline report. These examine the West Midlands' position alongside the policy context for each issue.

Spotlight on black and minority ethnic groups

Published 17 February 2010

There's a large gap between employment rates of the white population and the black and minority ethnic population. This gap is bigger in the West Midlands than nationally.

Our briefing paper explores the nature of this gap and other issues around the labour market position of black and minority ethnic groups.

Read briefing paper on employment and black and minority ethnic groups in the West Midlands (pdf, 761kb)

Spotlight on youth unemployment

Published 10 July 2009

Large numbers of young people are out of work and the numbers are rising. We produced a briefing paper on key issues of youth unemployment, including the long-term consequences and barriers to work facing young people.

Read briefing paper on youth unemployment (pdf, 237kb)

Spotlight on mental health and employment in the West Midlands

Published 14 September 2009

Mental health is a significant issue in the West Midlands and a major contributor to high levels of worklessness. Our briefing paper provides information and statistics on the links between mental health problems and employment issues. We also review recent research and policy options aimed at overcoming employment barriers.

Read briefing paper on mental health and employment in the West Midlands (pdf, 639kb)

Spotlight on older people and economic inclusion

Published 17 September 2009

We examined issues around economic inclusion and older people in the West Midlands. The paper has sections on demographic change, employment of older people and how this has changed in the recession, and poverty amongst older people.

Read briefing paper on economic inclusion and older people (pdf, 653kb)

Research into causes, dynamics and experiences of worklessness

Dynamics of worklessness

Published 7 April 2010

This research aims to understand to what extent individuals are moving in and out of the labour market, entering work for short but unsustained periods, and/or making repeated benefit claims.

More about this project »

Read dynamics of worklessness (pdf, 0.9mb)

Employers' experiences of employing workless people

Published 5 June 2009

This aim of this literature review was to look at how employers are engaging with people who have been workless and learn from areas of good practice. Our review includes several case studies of employment programmes where employers are engaging with workless people and summarises key features of these programmes.

More about this project »

Read literature review (pdf, 444kb)

Causes and dynamics of worklessness

Published 10 February 2009

A study of available literature on the causes and dynamics of worklessessness. This report examines existing analysis of causes and dynamics, and seeks to identify any gaps in knowledge.

More about this project »

Read literature review (pdf, 1.1mb)

Employment and unemployment data

We analyse the latest employment and unemployment data for the West Midlands every month, alongside an interactive map showing how the picture of unemployment is changing.

More about this project »

Impact of the recession on the population of the West Midlands

Published December 2009

Our monitoring report (pdf, 1.19mb) provides detailed analysis of the latest available data on employment, unemployment and claimants of Jobseeeker's Allowance. These are analysed according to age, ethnicity, gender, disability and skills, to show where the impact of the recession is greatest.

Economic inclusion annual report 2010

Published 29 June 2010
Economic inclusion annual report 2010 - full report (pdf, 929kb)
Economic inclusion annual report 2010 - charts (ppt, 4.9mb)
Economic inclusion annual report 2010 - charts (zip, 1.34mb, contains each chart as png)

Economic inclusion baseline report

Published 27 March 2009
A comprehensive overview of economic inclusion and worklessness in the West Midlands:
Economic inclusion baseline report (pdf, 2.2mb)
Economic inclusion baseline report (executive summary) (pdf, 1.09mb)

Published 11 March 2009
Economic inclusion indicators poster (pdf, 260kb)