Andrew Mitchell MP has welcomed new statistics that show the number of people in work in the West Midlands has increased by 37,000 since the last General Election. Welcoming the figures, Andrew Mitchell MP, said “These official statistics are extremely encouraging - the number of people in work in our region has now reached 2.46 million.” “The private sector is rising to the challenge and has created more than 1.4 million jobs in the past three years. I regularly visit local businesses in Sutton and have been pleased to learn that they believe that hardworking people are starting to benefit from the UK’s economic recovery.