Wales' employment rate is up after fall in sickness levels
The country saw its employment rate hit 72.6% - which is up 2.2 percentage points on the previous quarter and up 3.6 percentage points on the year.
But it remains below the UK average of 75.2%.- with only the North East, Yorkshire and Humber, and Northern Ireland with a lower figure. Meanwhile the unemployment rate in Wales was 4.4%.
This is down 0.4 percentage points on the quarter and up 0.9 percentage points on the year.
Wales performs well compared to the overall UK, where the unemployment rate was 4.7%, which was up on the year and the last quarter.
In addition there was positive news over economic inactivity in the working age population.
These figures include full-time carers or students, and people who are on long-term sick or have taken early retirement.
In the years prior to the pandemic it had fallen from over 24% to 21.8% after steady progress to tackle the problem but it spiked during and after Covid hit. This saw it go over 28% in 2024, the worst rate of all UK nations and regions.
But the last 12 months has seen the rate fall.
In the last quarter the economic inactivity rate in Wales was 23.9%. This is down 2.1 percentage points on the quarter and down 4.5 percentage points on the year.
The UK economic inactivity rate remains lower at 21.0%.
However Wales has now moved off the bottom and ahead of the North East, Yorkshire and Humber, and Northern Ireland.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rhyl Journal
2 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Red Lion pub has closed following dispute with council
The Red Lion has been a popular part of Holywell's High Street down the years. Aside from during the Covid-19 pandemic, when such venues were forced to close for some time, the pub has served the community since around the mid-1700's. But, there was shock and disappointment earlier this month when staff announced it would be closing for good last Sunday (July 27). In a Facebook post, they said: "It's with great sadness to let you all know the Red Lion will be calling last orders for the final time this Sunday, July 27. Thank you to each and every customer that has come through our doors." Punters took to that post to recall the 'good nights' they had shared there and to wish the team well. When contacted to ask why the pub was closing down, the team said they had been in a dispute with Flintshire Council over the upstairs property. After the previous tenant had passed away suddenly, lease holder John Roberts claims the upstairs area of the pub was viewed as his 'second home' by the council. And that, he claims, led to him being charged over £3,500 a month in business rates and council tax. John told us: "This has been going on for the last three years by now, and it's been an absolute joke. "I've asked someone from Flintshire Council to come out and have a look at the property upstairs, as we've had nobody living in it for years, but nobody has been out to see us to check we're telling the truth, instead they just want their money." John added: "How they can call it a second home I don't know, as it's a part of the pub. We stock a lot of stuff up there and we have had to go up there to fetch things all the time, from the freezer and that. "But, I've decided I'm just not going to fight it any more to be honest. I'm not too upset about having to close, I'm more p****d off at the council for the way they've treated the whole situation." In response to the claims made by Mr Roberts, David Barnes, Revenues and Procurement Manager for Flintshire Council, said: "Many public houses, including the Red Lion in Holywell, qualify for full or tapered small business rate relief and/or Retail, Leisure, and Hospitality Rate Relief. These schemes are designed to support small businesses. "Public houses often have mixed use where the domestic part is typically subject to council tax and the non-domestic part is subject to business rates. "The council is unable to comment on the specific circumstances of this case, as it involves individual's council tax details that are subject to data protection and confidentiality requirements. "However, the council will always work constructively with individuals and businesses to assist and support where possible, and we would urge the taxpayer to contact the council on 01352 704848'.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Moderna quarterly sales beat Street estimates on COVID booster sales, cost cuts
Aug 1 (Reuters) - Moderna (MRNA.O), opens new tab topped Wall Street sales expectations and reported a lower-than-expected second-quarter loss on Friday, driven by robust Spring COVID booster demand and aggressive cost cuts. However, its shares fell more than 4% in premarket trading after the company lowered its 2025 sales forecast to $1.5 billion to $2.2 billion, cutting $300 million from the top end, as UK revenue deliveries shifted into early 2026. Moderna said 40% to 50% of that revenue will be recognized in the third quarter of 2025, with the rest expected in the fourth. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based vaccine maker reported quarterly revenue of $142 million, a 41% drop from last year, but still ahead of analyst estimates of $112.9 million, according to LSEG data. On an adjusted basis, Moderna posted a quarterly loss of $2.13 per share, less than $2.97 a share loss analysts had projected. Moderna finance chief James Mock attributed the results to spring COVID booster shot uptake, which was down 11% year-over-year but higher than anticipated, and $800 million in cost cuts in the first half of 2025. "I don't think analysts thought we could get that much (in costs) out of the business," he said. Mock added that the spring sales boost could signal solid demand for COVID vaccines this autumn. The Spikevax COVID-19 shot delivered $114 million in sales, beating the expected $87 million for the quarter, but a far cry from its 2022 pandemic peak, when the vaccine brought in $18.4 billion. The company did not disclose sales for mRESVIA, its RSV vaccine, saying they were negligible. Analysts had expected $1 million in quarterly sales for that shot. Moderna said it plans to cut operating costs by $400 million in 2025, bringing them down to $5.9 billion to $6.1 billion. It had previously projected cuts of $4.7 billion to $5 billion by 2027. The company on Thursday said it would cut around 10% of its global workforce, shrinking to under 5,000 employees by year's end, as part of its move to trim operating expenses. Mock said the job cuts would affect nearly every function at the company. Moderna is counting on new mRNA products such as its experimental COVID-flu combo shot to offset slumping COVID vaccine sales and a slower-than-hoped rollout of the RSV shot. Moderna, which voluntarily withdrew its COVID-flu combo shot approval application in May, said it is working with regulators to clarify data requirements for resubmission.
Spectator
3 hours ago
- Spectator
Rachel Reeves has crushed confidence in Britain
It doesn't look like the Chancellor will hit her target for turning the UK into the fastest-growing economy in the G7. Nor has 'stability' unlocked a wave of foreign investment. Instead, it has plunged. As for Rachel Reeves's fiscal rules, they have been missed almost every month since they were announced. Now there is more bad news for the Chancellor. Business confidence has collapsed to an all-time low. Leaving the EU's single market was tough for Britain; so was the financial crash of 2008 and 2009. The pandemic, too, was never going to make business owners feel good about life. But still, 2025 is looking like our country's economic nadir. According to a survey by the Institute of Directors released today, business sentiment dropped to minus 72 in July, a steep drop from an already very gloomy minus 53 a month earlier. It is the lowest reading on the survey since it started in 2016, and even worse than during the Covid crisis. Almost 85 per cent of the 900 business leaders surveyed said they 'lack confidence in the government to jump-start the economy'. More than two-thirds said they believed the government's policies on the economy have been 'very unsuccessful' to date. There may be one or two entrepreneurs out there feeling good about their prospects – perhaps a guy selling spare parts for windmills in Sunderland – but everyone else is suicidal. It is not hard to work out why the mood is so bad. Companies have already been hammered with one round of tax and more and higher levies are almost certainly on the way in the autumn. Entrepreneurs face higher capital gains taxes and possibly a wealth tax as well. Expanding has become not just more expensive, but more difficult too. Employers must adhere to a whole raft of new employment rights. Rachel Reeves has never seemed to understand that a good chancellor is a good storyteller. He or she needs to inspire, and to persuade people that even if times are tough, they will get better soon. Relentlessly talking down the economy has been a huge mistake – and Reeves is about to pay a high price for it.
