Wales has also seen the lowest income growth in the UK recentlyWhilst the overall UK unemployment rate is currently 4 per cent, it dropped to 3.8 per cent in Wales between May and July. Other than the south-west of England, which includes Bristol, this is the biggest drop in unemployment in the UK and means employment levels in Wales have grown more than in any other UK region.
In 2017, Wales saw a drop of 0.5 percentage points in its unemployment rate; in contrast, May to July this year saw a 0.6 percentage point fall compared with the previous quarter. This means that around 51,000 more working-age people – those between the ages of 16 and 64 – are employed compared with the previous year. This is a rise of 2.6 percentage points and is Wales’s highest employment rate since 1975.
Around 74.2 per cent of Welsh 16- to 64-year-olds are currently in work, compared with the 74.0 per cent high in the previous quarter.
Traditionally, Wales has had lower employment rates than England. There was a brief period in 2016 when this statistic reversed, only to revert again in 2017. Wales has some of the highest economic activity levels in the UK, which is a measure of the people of working age who are not actively seeking employment. This includes students, carers, those with long-term illnesses or disabilities, and those who have taken early retirement.
The Office for National Statistics claims that economic inactivity in Wales has fallen by two percentage points to 22.2 per cent in comparison with the May to July period last year. This still means that only Northern Ireland, the north-east of England and Yorkshire and the Humber areas have higher rates of economic inactivity. In the UK as a whole, the economic inactivity rate remains stable at 21.2 per cent.
Wales has also seen the lowest income growth in the UK recently. Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands have both seen 8.9 per cent rises in income across the last ten years. The average household in Wales has an income of around £20,900, which is just 1.1 per cent higher than during 2008’s financial crisis. In contrast, London and the south-east have seen falls in their incomes.
In addition, the south-west, south-east and east of England saw lower unemployment levels from May to July. Other than London, Bristol is considered to be the city that currently has the best economic growth. Wales’s proximity to Bristol, particularly with the upcoming removal of tolls on the Severn bridges, could help to benefit the Welsh economy.
As the figures only represent one-quarter of the year, analysts are advising people not to exaggerate their significance. It is too soon to state whether the figures represent an ongoing trend; however, Carwyn Jones, the first minister of Wales, has welcomed the figures as an opportunity for Wales to continue to build its economy.
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