Unemployment

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 1:36 pm on 28 June 2023.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 1:36, 28 June 2023

Well, there are a couple of points to make in response. The first is on the employment and unemployment figures. As I and the First Minister have set out, actually, on the figures themselves, it's important not to over-rely on another month's worth of figures, because the Office for National Statistics figures do show a rise in unemployment, whereas, actually, the pay-as-you-earn figures over the last year show an increase in employees of 1.5 per cent in Wales. The last month's figures show a 0.3 per cent increase. Now, it's unusual to then have the ONS figures come out and say something entirely different. So, we do need to understand what's going on in that picture, and, to be fair, ONS are looking to increase the size of the Labour Force Survey they undertake to try to make sure that those figures are more reliable and don't have to wait for the annual population survey. 

When it comes to skills, this is directly related to our overall budget, which, as you will know, is reducing in value. You'll also know that, in the area of skills, we have unhelpful competition from the UK Government cutting across us. It would be much better, in the way in which we work practically with Jobcentre Plus local management and offices, if we had that sort of relationship with the UK Government. It is about both the direction and the value of shared prosperity funds. It is also about pragmatic policy making. And that, I think, would be a good deal for this place, and respecting devolution. It would also, crucially, be a good deal for businesses and for people who are looking to improve their skills to improve their prospects of work. 

Minister

Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.

labour force survey

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a quarterly sample survey of households living at private addresses in Great Britain. Its purpose is to provide information on the UK labour market that can then be used to develop, manage, evaluate and report on labour market policies. The questionnaire design, sample selection, and interviewing are carried out by the Social and Vital Statistics Division of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on behalf of the Statistical Outputs Group of the ONS.

More details: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Source.asp?vlnk=358&More=Y

this place

The House of Commons.