Annual Population Survey: 2018

The Annual Population Survey (APS) combines the boosted samples of the Labour Force Survey. It provides rolling four quarter labour market data for UK countries and regions and also for local areas. For Wales, the APS consists of a sample of about 18,000 households every year.

Employment

• The employment rate for the population aged 16 to 64 in Wales was 73.1% compared with 75.0% in the UK.
• Since 2001, the employment rate increased by 6.0 percentage points in Wales and by 2.7 percentage points in the UK.
• The local authorities with the highest estimated employment rates were Wrexham (78.6%), Vale of Glamorgan (78.5%) and Monmouthshire (78.0%). The lowest rates were in Swansea (66.5%), Ceredigion (69.6%) and Torfaen (70.5%).

Unemployment

• The unemployment rate for the population aged 16 and over in Wales was 4.5%, compared with 4.2% in the UK.
• Since 2001, the unemployment rates in Wales and the UK both fell by 0.9 percentage points.
• The local authorities with the lowest estimated unemployment rates were Powys (2.0%), Ceredigion (2.2%) and Denbighshire (2.3%). The highest rates were in Rhondda Cynon Taf (7.1%), Swansea (6.2%) and Merthyr Tydfil (6.0%).

Youth unemployment

• The youth unemployment rate in Wales was 14.0%, above the UK rate of 11.6%.
• Since 2001, the youth unemployment rate has fallen by 0.2 percentage points in Wales and by 0.1 percentage points in the UK.

Long term unemployment

• 25.0% of unemployed people in Wales had been unemployed for 12 months or more. This compares to 25.1% in the UK.

Economic inactivity

• The economic inactivity rate for the population aged 16 to 64 in Wales was 23.3% compared with 21.7% in the UK.
• Since 2001, the economic inactivity rate decreased by 5.6 percentage points in Wales and by 2.2 percentage points in the UK.
• The local authorities with the lowest estimated economic inactivity rates were Wrexham (18.5%), Vale of Glamorgan (18.5%) and Monmouthshire (19.5%). The highest rates were in Swansea (28.9%), Ceredigion (28.9%) and Bridgend (25.9%).