Unemployment continues to rise in Wales, latest figures show

THE latest jobs figures show unemployment in Wales continues to rise, with 73,000 people out of work.

The rise of 3,000 in the number of people without a job in the three months to January leaves Wales with an unemployment rate of 4.8%.

This compares with a UK unemployment rate of just 4.3%. Wales’s rate is higher than that in Scotland and England (both 4.3%) and Northern Ireland (3.2%).

Year on year, Wales has seen the largest decrease in the employment rate, down from 73.3% to 72.6%. The only other region to see a dip was the East Midlands.

Across the UK, the number of people in work has reached a record high of 32.2 million, although there has also been a rise of 24,000 in unemployment, to 1.45 million.

In December, Wales had the lowest proportion of people working in the services sector (78%) while London had the highest (91.3%). The male unemployment rate in Wales of 4.2% contrasts with a female rate of 5.5%.

Across Great Britain, average earnings increased by 2.8% in the year to January, a rise of 0.1% on the previous month, and the highest since September 2015.

However, when adjusted for inflation, the Office for National Statistics found “regular pay for employees in Great Britain fell by 0.2%”.

Plaid Cymru Treasury spokesman Jonathan Edwards MP said: “Yet another rise in Welsh unemployment shows our economy being failed by governments at both ends of the M4. We will not get to grips with the problem of a lack of jobs and low wages unless our Welsh parliament is given the proper tools to generate high-skilled, well-paid roles.”

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Esther McVey said: “Getting a job means securing an income for a family and the chance to build a better future. That’s why up and down the country we are doing all we can to help people into work.”