After latest estimated data showed unemployment in the region has remained at 5.5%, East Midlands Chamber has renewed its call for skills investment, to better match candidates with roles.
The latest estimated figure from the Office for National Statistics for over 16s in the East Midlands covers the period between February and April 2026.
East Midlands Chamber Director of Policy and Insight Richard Blackmore said: “Less than half of East Midlands businesses have attempted to recruit and of those that did, six out of ten experienced difficulty getting candidates that matched the role, according to the results of our latest Quarterly Economic Survey, for the second quarter of this year. Getting East Midlands unemployment down from 5.5%, which is still far too high, means tackling both those areas – address skills so applicants match the role and incentivise more businesses to recruit in the first place.
“Reducing the cost burden on business – which would mean looking again at business rates and helping with energy costs by bringing in more support packages – would help stimulate investment, which our quarter two survey findings show has also stalled across areas like machinery and training. With the cost burden alleviated, we would likely see an increase in attempts to recruit.
“On skills reform, the Chamber’s landmark publication – the Framework for Growth – outlines innovative approaches that would help address the challenges firms face, like ensuring there are flexible skills funds for SMEs and microbusinesses; skills funding better aligned with business and workforce planning cycles and introducing an online skills portal so training and apprenticeships are simpler to access.
“If we can incentivise employers to invest in people by addressing the high cost of doing business and get the skillset of applicants increased, we should see unemployment reduced and I’d urge policymakers to prioritise the measures we’ve outlined.”
View East Midlands Chamber’s Framework for Growth here
View East Midlands Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey, Q2, 2026 here
