DUDLEY'S stagnant job market may be suppressing economic growth, new figures suggest.

The steady rate of job creation and destruction, known as "creative destruction", is necessary for long-term economic growth because it encourages new ideas and activities, the Office for National Statistics said.

The Institute for Public Policy Research said a healthy economy is "driven by businesses that are constantly changing, evolving and adapting to market conditions".

But ONS figures show the UK jobs market is stagnant, with fewer roles created and destroyed and job creation and destruction rates falling in 87 per cent of areas between 2004-07 and 2016-19, including in Dudley.

It comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a National Wealth Fund, a £7.3 billion state investment in businesses in manufacturing, green and other high-growth industries to boost the economy.

Ms Reeves is looking to secure roughly triple this in private investment to help finance the fund, and a financial return is targeted to power future state spending.

Pranesh Narayanan, research fellow at the IPPR, said Labour "seems to be taking the right steps in driving risky investments" to aid a stagnating jobs market with its National Wealth Fund.

The job market in Dudley followed the stagnating national trend, as the creation and destruction rates fell from 15.6 per cent and 15.9 per cent in 2004-07 to 13.7 per cent and 13.4 per cent in 2016-19 respectively.

A growing economy requires both creation and destruction rates to increase, indicating higher job churn and fuelling greater "creative destruction".

Mr Narayanan said: "Over time, most of the country has fallen into economic stasis, driven by established businesses reducing their rate of job creation and destruction.

"This suggests an increasing nervousness to risk-taking among established businesses and highlights the need for a new approach to economic policy."

The figures also show 4.4 million jobs were created across the UK in 2022, while 4 million were destroyed.

The net growth in jobs follows 2021, in which the coronavirus pandemic was a major factor in the net loss of 200,000 jobs – the first time more jobs were destroyed than created since 2010, when 1.2 million were lost following the 2008 financial crash.

In Dudley, 16,310 jobs were created in 2022, whereas 16,150 jobs were destroyed, meaning there was net job growth of 160.

In 2021, 1,160 more jobs were lost than created, while there was a fall of 6,070 in 2010.