Plaid Cymru calls for Welsh Government to “take matters into their own hands” after latest “concerning patterns” in unemployment rates

Plaid Cymru has called for a “proactive rather than reactive” approach to the economy, after unemployment figures rise again in Wales.

The calls come four years after the (then) Economy Minister admitted that “we don’t know what we’re doing on the economy.”

Luke Fletcher MS, Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for the economy, has accused the Labour Welsh Government of allowing “the Tories to clip our economic wings and drive up unemployment than take matters into our own hands.”

The latest Labour Market figures have been released from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which shows that Wales has the lowest employment rate in the UK, the largest increase in the economic activity rate and the joint highest unemployment rate rise in a year. The unemployment rate has risen for the third month in a row.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson for the economy, Luke Fletcher MS said:

“Four years since the Labour Welsh Government first admitted that they didn’t know what they were doing on the economy, it seems that little has changed.

“The concerning pattern of rising unemployment in Wales is a reflection of the lack of innovation from this government and its reactive rather than proactive approach to building a sustainable Welsh workforce.

“Many of the economic levers that could create a favourable employment environment reside in Westminster but Labour ministers in Wales would rather allow the Tories to clip our economic wings and drive up unemployment than take matters into our own hands.”