Key Economic Statistics - September 2008

The key points from the latest release are:

The Labour Force Survey estimates for the 3 months to July 2008 show:

• The employment rate of people of working age in Wales was 71.8 per cent, down from 72.2 per cent in the same period a year earlier.  The UK average was 74.7 per cent.
• The ILO unemployment rate in Wales was 5.5 per cent of the economically active, up 0.1 percentage points on the same period a year earlier.  For the UK as a whole it was also 5.5 per cent.
• The rate of economic activity amongst people of working age in Wales was 76.2 per cent, down from 76.5 per cent in the same period a year earlier.  The UK average was 79.2 per cent.

The claimant count rate in August 2008 for Wales was 3.2 per cent of the workforce, up 0.4 percentage points on August 2007 (UK rate 2.8 per cent).

The claimant count rate in August 2008 for West Wales and the Valleys was 2.7 per cent of the resident population of working-age.  The rate for East Wales stood at 2.4 per cent.

The detailed quarterly Labour Force Survey datasets on StatsWales were updated to include the new labour market information on 19 September 2008.

Contact:
Tel: 029 2082 5017
E-mail: economic.stats@wales.gsi.gov.uk

Next Update:
17 October 2008