Key economic statistics: February 2020

Monthly data which covers topics such as employment, indices, exports and earnings.

The Labour Force Survey estimates for the three months to December 2019.

Employment rate

Chart showing the percentage of the population aged 16-64 who are employed for Wales and the UK. The employment rate in the UK is generally higher than in Wales over the last 10 years. The rate has steadily increased in the UK over the last 4 years but has fluctuated in Wales.

Wales: The employment rate in Wales was 74.4%. This is 0.5 percentage points up on the quarter and 1.9 percentage points down on the year.

UK: The UK employment rate was 76.5%. This is 0.4 percentage points up on the quarter and 0.6 percentage points up on the year.

Unemployment rate

Chart showing the percentage of economically active people aged 16+ who are unemployed for Wales and the UK. The unemployment rate has decreased overall in both Wales and the UK over the last 4 years.

Wales: The unemployment rate in Wales was 2.9%. This is 0.9 percentage points down on the quarter and 1.2 percentage points down on the year.

UK: The UK unemployment rate was 3.8%. This is 0.1 percentage points down on the quarter and 0.2 percentage points down on the year.

Economic inactivity rate

Chart showing the percentage of the population aged 16-64 who are economically inactive for Wales and the UK. The economic inactivity rate in Wales is higher than in the UK over the last 10 years. The rate has steadily decreased in the UK over the last 4 years but has fluctuated in Wales.

Wales: The economic inactivity rate in Wales was 23.3%. This is 0.2 percentage points up on the quarter and 3.0 percentage points up on the year.

UK: The UK economic inactivity rate was 20.5%. This is 0.3 percentage points down on the quarter and 0.4 percentage points down on the year.

Future publication of these statistics

In August 2019, we launched our new Welsh economy in numbers dashboard which includes key statistics on income, output, work, poverty and wealth. In light of this new publication, we would like to hear about how you use the key economic statistics release and data.

Reports