Wales has the joint highest unemployment rate of any nation or region in the UK while also having the lowest level of people in employment.
Labour data from the Office for National Statistics for the three months from March to May, shows that Wales, along with the West Midlands, has the highest unemployment rate in the UK at 5% - a rise of 1.5% on the previous quarter, representing the biggest rise in the UK.
The unemployment rate in Wales is at its highest level for five years. For the UK as whole the unemployment rate was up 0.2% to 4%. The unemployment rate in Wales was up 1.2% on the year, which was also the biggest rise anywhere in the UK
Wales also experienced a contraction in employment levels, with the percentage of its working age population - 16 to 64 year olds - in work at just 71.9%. The employment rate was down 0.5% on the previous quarter and on the year by 1.8%. Average employment for the UK as whole is more than 5% higher than in Wales at 76%. For Scotland is it 75.1% and Northern Ireland 72%. The highest employment rate was estimated to be 79.5% for the south east of England.
Wales also saw the largest increase in economic inactivity compared to the same period last year climbing 0.8% to 24.2% - although it was marginally down on the quarter. The economic inactivity rate for the UK are a whole was 20.8%.
Plaid Cymru spokesperson for the economy, Luke Fletcher MS said: “Four years since the Labour Welsh Government first admitted that they didn’t know what they were doing on the economy, it seems that little has changed. The concerning pattern of rising unemployment in Wales is a reflection of the lack of innovation from this government and its reactive rather than proactive approach to building a sustainable Welsh workforce.
“Many of the economic levers that could create a favourable employment environment reside in Westminster but Labour ministers in Wales would rather allow the Tories to clip our economic wings and drive up unemployment than take matters into our own hands.”
Welsh Conservative Shadow Economy Minister, Paul Davies, said: “Unemployment has risen again in Labour-run Wales, to the highest it’s been in five years and the sharpest rise in the last year of any nation or region of the UK. This is the third month in a row that the unemployment rate in Wales has risen and urgent action is needed to ensure that this worrying trend does not continue.
“Ministers in Cardiff Bay need to work with businesses in order to help them grow – and that means creating more procurement opportunities, reforming the planning system and investing in skills for the future.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "We are working to create a more equal and prosperous Wales, where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential and to play their full part in our economy and our society, and where more people feel confident about planning their future in Wales. That’s why we’re supporting businesses to create more quality jobs, be more flexible and provide better-paid opportunities for workers.
Our focus remains on reducing economic inactivity. Our economic mission confirms the levers we do have to narrow the skills divide, support better jobs and in turn tackle poverty. Our plan for employability and skills prioritises people most in need of help. This includes supporting people to stay in work and those further away from the labour market to find employment."
