Unemployment in Wales highest of any UK nation

The unemployment rate in Wales has risen to 5.4% and remains above the level for the UK as a whole.

- HOLLY WILLIAMS and SION BARRY

According to the Office for National Statistics, the unemployment rate in Wales from September to November last year was 5.4% (103,000 people), up 0.5% on the previous quarter (June to August). For the UK as a whole, unemployment was up 0.3% to 5.1% (1.84 million people), although unchanged on the three months to October. Unemployment in the UK and Wales remains at a five-year high.

In England, the unemployment rate was 5.3%, in Scotland 3.7% and in Northern Ireland 2.1%.

The highest rate of any UK nation or region was London (7.2%), followed by the northeast of England (6.2%) and the east Midlands (6%).

The number of economically active working-age adults in Wales was 75.5%, compared to 79.2% for the UK a whole. It was only lower in the northeast of England (74%) and Northern Ireland (73.6%).

The number of economically inactive adults in Wales, while down 8,000 on the quarter, was 24.5%, which equates to 479,000 people. For the UK, economic inactivity was 20.8%. The level was only higher than Wales in Northern Ireland (26.4%) and the northeast of England (26%).