Hat-trick of good news for Welsh economy as employment rate hits record high

18 May 2016 09:39 AM

The Welsh jobs market has recorded a hat-trick of good news with employment up, unemployment falling and a drop in the claimant count.

The latest snapshot of the Welsh economy shows the employment rate increased more than any other UK region over the quarter and is at a record high.

Other highlights from the Labour Market Statistics show that over the past quarter:

Employment in Wales is up 27,000 and the rate up 1.1 percentage points to 72.5%. Over the year, employment has risen by 74,000, with the rate increasing by 2.9 percentage points.

There are now 1.455 million people in employment, the highest level since records began.

• The unemployment level is down 5,000 and the rate down 0.4 percentage points to 4.8%. Over the year, unemployment has decreased by 26,000.
• Unemployment in Wales currently stands at 74,000 - the lowest level since early 2008.
• The claimant count fell by 200 - a 0.4 per cent reduction, and has fallen by 3,300 over the year.
• Economic inactivity - those people who are not in employment or unemployed, but might for example be studying or looking after a family member - is down by 17,000 and the rate is falling faster than any other UK region.

Alun Cairns, Secretary of State for Wales, said:

This is a hat-trick of good news for the Welsh jobs market. Across the country, the investment we have put into rebalancing the economy and welfare reform is now paying dividends with record numbers coming off benefits and into work.

Yet again, we are seeing an unemployment rate below the national average as Wales shows an increasingly confident and entrepreneurial face to the world.

With the European referendum vote ahead, the worst thing we could do is jeopardise an economy producing more and more jobs with a Brexit leap into the dark.