Welsh Government response to latest Labour Market Statistics – March 2026
Ymateb Llywodraeth Cymru i Ystadegau'r Farchnad Lafur diweddaraf - Mawrth 2026
The Welsh Government said:
“Evidence from a range of sources suggest the labour market in Wales has followed similar trends to the UK since the pandemic. Latest figures from the Annual Population Survey (APS) show the unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over in Wales was 4.5% compared to the UK rate of 4.2%. It also shows Wales’ employment rate is relatively close to the all-time high.
“We have rolled our sleeves up to deliver for businesses, communities, and thousands of workers across Wales as we build a stronger, fairer, and greener economy – supporting more than 50,000 jobs this Senedd term through business programmes.
“As we’ve said before, we’re quoting the Annual Population Survey because of concerns about the reliability of Labour Force Survey data. In fact, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) itself advises caution when taking these statistics as the only measure of the labour market in Wales. For greater accuracy it is recommended that a range of sources are used, while the ONS develops a new survey.”
Notes to editors
- The best way of understanding the Welsh labour market is to consider longer term trends across a range of sources. This includes alternative official sources such as the Annual Population Survey, HMRC real time information on paid employees, data on workforce jobs, and the claimant count. Read more here:
- The Annual Population Survey shows there were 1.46 million people in employment in Wales in the year ending September 2025, up 3,200 (0.2%) from the same period a year earlier, relatively close to an all-time high.
- Wales’ employment rate (for people aged 16 to 64) remains relatively close to an all-time high. In the year ending September 2025 it was three percentage points higher than in 2004.
- Labour market participation in Wales has increased since devolution – the employment rate gap between Wales and the UK has narrowed from 5.5 percentage points in 1999 to 3.2 percentage points in the year ending September 2025.
- The Young Person’s Guarantee has supported 64,000 young people aged 16-24 since November 2021, through programmes like Jobs Growth Wales Plus, Communities for Work Plus, ReAct Plus and Apprenticeships.
- Since 2022, Employability programmes have also supported just over 37,000 adults over the age of 25.