Spike in jobless women as rate of unemployment rises most inWales
THE latest Welsh job figures show a jump in unemployment. Figures for the three months to November reveal that the number of people out of work rose from 60,000 in the previous quarter to 73,000.
The overall unemployment rate climbed from 4% to 4.9% – the biggest proportional increase in the UK.
The number of men out of work was largely unchanged but the figures show a spike in joblessness among women – up from 25,000 to 39,000. Female unemployment rose from 3.6% from 5.5%.
Cerys Furlong, the chief executive of Chwarae Teg, which helps women in the economy, described the increase as “worrying”.
She said: “We know that closing gender gaps in our labour market will deliver real economic benefits... The rise of insecure employment alongside persistent issues like inadequate childcare provision are only making this goal more difficult for women.”
The rate of 4.9% contrasts with the UK and England (both 4.3%), Scotland (4%) and Northern Ireland (3.8%). The West Midlands had the highest rate (5.5%).
The Office for National Statistics stated that between June and September the largest decrease in workforce jobs was “in Yorkshire and the Humber, at 36,000, followed by Wales and Northern Ireland, which both decreased by 4,000”.
Figures for September show that London had the highest proportion of jobs in the services sector (91.2%) while Wales had the lowest (77.9%).
At a UK level, the number of people in work has reached a record high but there is concern about a decline in the real value of pay.
Just over 32.2 million people had jobs in the three months to November – the highest total since records began in 1971. Unemployment fell by 3,000 to 1.44 million, 160,000 lower than a year ago.
Welsh Conservative economy spokesman Russell George said: “That joblessness in Wales is rising against a UK-wide fall is evidence that when it comes to the economy, Welsh Labour isn’t working.
“Two decades of Labour governance has left Wales with the lowest GVA of all the home nations, the lowest wages in the UK, and among the poorest areas in Europe. It’s time that Labour ministers stopped putting Welsh businesses in a bureaucratic stranglehold and gave them the support they need to grow and hire, which would wipe out unemployment at a stroke.”
Plaid Cymru economy spokesman Adam Price said: “These figures are a manifestation of the Labour Welsh Government’s failure to bring forward a comprehensive economic plan. At a time when so many of our key sectors are exposed to the economic uncertainty caused by Brexit, it is alarming to see this trend in the labour market.
“Plaid Cymru has long argued that our parliament needs more borrowing powers so we can invest in infrastructure projects that would generate high-skilled, well-paid jobs.”
However, First Minister Carwyn Jones pointed to an increase in the Welsh employment rate. He said: “The latest labour market statistics show that Wales’ employment rate is continuing to grow and now stands at 72.7%. This is 0.2 percentage points up on the quarter and 0.3 percentage points up on the year.
“The statistics also reveal that our economic inactivity rate has fallen to 23.6% which is 0.8 percentage points down on the quarter and 0.6 percentage points down on the year.
“We remain committed to doing all we can to drive up employment levels across Wales and today we have announced a new £2.5m EUbacked scheme to help unemployed people to overcome barriers into work.
“We are also working hard to support employers to locate to and expand within Wales and just this month we have announced an additional 275 Welsh Government-supported jobs at travel company TUI and global professional services company AON.”
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said: “The UK Government is working hard to create the right conditions for growth, but this must be a coordinated action across governments and industry at all levels.”