Business leaders in the West Midlands hit back at William Hague and Eric Pickles after the number of jobless in the region fell for the second month running.
The foreign secretary had said that bosses should stop “complaining” about the economy and work harder.
Communities secretary Eric Pickles said he agreed with Mr Hague. He told BBC One’s Sunday Politics: “Government can’t create growth, it can create the conditions for growth but we’re only going to be able to do this if we all work harder.
“The world has changed and our competition has changed and I think the only way we can pull out of this is by us all working harder.”
However, unemployment figures for the West Midlands, which fell from 173,053 (6.6 per cent) in January to 167,076 (6.4 per cent) were proof that business in the West Midlands was “busting a gut”, said Birmingham Chamber president Michael Ward.
He added: “Businesses throughout Greater Birmingham and the West Midlands are busting a gut to find new growth opportunities both at home and abroad. We do not need to be told by government ministers to ‘get on the plane, go and sell things overseas, go and study overseas’, as Mr Pickles did.
“Birmingham Chamber is at the forefront of promoting business around the world. We are currently in Eastern Europe and have recently led trade missions to Austin, Texas, the Middle East and Asia with many more planned.
“So the government should stop complaining about the work ethic of businesses and move more quickly on scrapping the red tape that is holding it back, particularly in relation to employment laws.
“And proof that this hard work is paying off has come with today’s fall in unemployment figures. This follows the message our members gave us in arecent survey, with nearly half of manufacturers (48 per cent) confirming they were attempting to recruit.
“Both manufacturing and service sector respondents were optimistic about creating jobs with 20 per cent of services and 22 per cent of manufacturers predicting that their workforce would expand in the second quarter of this year.”
