Wales unemployment rises above UK average
- Published
The figures suggest the jobs market is weakening, but the jobless rate is still low compared with previous years
Unemployment in Wales has risen to 4.2% - higher than the 3.9% UK average, according to the latest statistics.
The figures for June to August 2019 show a rise from March to May when the jobless rate, both in Wales and across the UK, was 3.8%.
The rate is still close to its lowest level for 44 years.
The figures suggest 32,000 fewer people were in work in Wales than in the previous quarter - and 30,000 fewer than the same period last year.
The employment rate in Wales was down from 75.2% in the previous quarter to 74.1% - lower than the UK average of 75.9%.
Out of all the UK nations and regions, only Yorkshire and Humber, Northern Ireland and the north-east of England had lower rates of employment.
The rate of economic inactivity - people of working age who are not looking for work, either because they are sick long-term, studying full-time, full-time carers or early retirees - jumped from 21.6% to 22.5% over the quarter - higher than the UK rate of 21%.
The lowest unemployment rate of all the UK regions was over the Severn bridge in the south-west of England, which includes Bristol, where the unemployment rate fell to 2.4%.
- Published13 November 2018
- Published15 October 2019
