Labour market insights from job postings in East Birmingham & North Solihull
This briefing explores patterns of labour demand in East Birmingham and North Solihull (EBNS) between 2022 and 2025. It compares local trends with those of the West Midlands region and England.
The share of professional occupations in total job postings in the EBNS area rose by more than five percentage points between 2022 and 2025. Skilled trades increased at a similar pace.
In particular, the report focuses on sectoral demand, occupational structure, salary levels, and spatial variation in job density across these areas. The findings show a strong concentration of professional, technical and mid-skilled roles in the EBNS area, alongside higher-than-average advertised salaries. They also highlight challenges related to access to ‘good employment’ for residents without advanced skills. The analysis forms part of the research project ‘Youth transitions to good employment: East Birmingham & North Solihull’, which is funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
Regional and local policymakers, education providers and employers could use these insights to shape coordinated decisions on investment, provision and partnership working. This would ensure that local labour market intelligence directly informs planning and delivery. Doing so can help align place-based strategies with the evolving needs of the economy of East Birmingham and North Solihull.
Meet the Authors
Professor Anne Green
Anne Green joined the University of Birmingham as Professor of Regional Economic Development in June 2017 and currently shares the job of Co-Director with Rebecca Riley. Her research interests span employment, non-employment, regional and local labour market issues, skills strategies, urban and rural development, migration and commuting, associated policy issues and evaluation.
She has published in high-profile journals and has written numerous reports for UK Government Departments and agencies. Anne is experienced in disseminating the results of her research to academic, policy and practitioner audiences.
Kostas Kollydas
Kostas is a Research Fellow who joined City-REDI in May 2021. He is an applied economist whose research interests lie broadly in labour economics and the economics of education.
Kostas has completed his PhD in Economics at the University of Bath. His thesis explored discrepancies in performance and progression in UK universities between students from different ethnic backgrounds and investigated ethnic pay inequalities amongst graduates in the British labour market. During his PhD, he was also engaged in a Local Skills Analysis research project to inform the development of an economic policy strategy in regional labour markets. He also has experience teaching econometrics at the undergraduate level. Kostas has previously held positions in the private sector, working for eight years in market research and management consultancy firms in Greece.