Flexible skills funds for SMEs and a single portal for firms to access apprenticeships are among the actions called for by East Midlands Chamber to get more candidates into jobs, as unemployment in the region remains unchanged at its highest level since 2020.
The latest estimated unemployment data from the Office for National Statistics for over-16s in the region covers October to December 2025 and is the second three-month period in succession, after September to November, at 6%.
East Midlands Chamber Director of Policy and Insight Richard Blackmore said:
“Getting unemployment down and people into jobs is essential but, to achieve it, businesses need support. There’s a perfect storm where, on one hand, employers were hit with higher costs imposed by the 2024 Autumn Budget, like higher National Insurance contributions; on the other, headaches like above-target inflation and the need to prepare for new regulatory requirements from April in the Employment Rights Act add to the pressure.
“Across 2025, we saw hesitant hiring as a consistent finding of our Quarterly Economic Survey and, with the increased costs faced by employers, it’s likely that many thought twice before either expanding their workforce or replacing staff after they left.
“Programmes like the recently announced Jobs Guarantee are a step in the right direction; however, they need to be mobilised at scale.
“The Chamber’s Framework for Growth outlines a set of actions that, if implemented, would directly address some of the root causes behind the skills gap and would help employers find suitable candidates when a role is advertised.
“While support and avenues like apprenticeships exist, access can be far from straightforward, as much of the approach, as it stands now, tends to be on a short-term cycle. That makes support less effective than it could be, as it isn’t lined up with how many employers or FE colleges operate – usually, they need to be thinking about long-term investment in people.
“Many firms don’t have the luxury of HR capacity, so navigating government funding options can be prohibitively complex. By simplifying the process, as proposed in our Framework for Growth, we’d likely see a much higher uptake of schemes.
“Incentivising investment and building confidence are key ingredients in getting unemployment down and growing the economy, so it’s vital that policymakers make skills investment a priority.”
• East Midlands farmland market strengthens as supply rises and values remain steady
