Statistics published by the Welsh Government and the Office for National Statistics. Each chart covers the years since the 2016 Senedd election, or as far back as the figures go, and marks each election since.
Employment rate
73.3%
The year to 30 June 2026
United Kingdom
75.5%
A year earlier
72.7%(the year to 30 June 2025)
Wales
United Kingdom
The share of people aged 16 to 64 in work, over the twelve months to each date, in Wales and the UK.
From the Annual Population Survey, a sample survey: small changes from one period to the next may not be real. Each figure covers twelve months, so the figures for neighbouring dates share most of their months. They differ from the monthly headline labour market figures.
Employment rate: every figure in the chart, newest first.
Period
Wales
United Kingdom
The year to 30 June 2026
73.3%
75.5%
The year to 31 March 2026
72.1%
75.4%
The year to 31 December 2025
72.5%
75.5%
The year to 30 September 2025
72.3%
75.5%
The year to 30 June 2025
72.7%
75.4%
The year to 31 March 2025
73.4%
75.4%
The year to 31 December 2024
72.8%
75.3%
The year to 30 September 2024
72.7%
75.3%
The year to 30 June 2024
73.0%
75.3%
The year to 31 March 2024
73.5%
75.4%
The year to 31 December 2023
74.1%
75.7%
The year to 30 September 2023
74.1%
75.7%
The year to 30 June 2023
73.6%
75.5%
The year to 31 March 2023
73.0%
75.4%
The year to 31 December 2022
73.3%
75.5%
The year to 30 September 2022
73.4%
75.4%
The year to 30 June 2022
73.7%
75.4%
The year to 31 March 2022
73.6%
75.1%
The year to 31 December 2021
73.0%
74.7%
The year to 30 September 2021
72.8%
74.5%
The year to 30 June 2021
72.1%
74.3%
The year to 31 March 2021
72.2%
74.7%
The year to 31 December 2020
72.7%
75.1%
The year to 30 September 2020
73.2%
75.4%
The year to 30 June 2020
73.7%
75.8%
The year to 31 March 2020
73.6%
75.8%
The year to 31 December 2019
73.2%
75.6%
The year to 30 September 2019
73.5%
75.6%
The year to 30 June 2019
73.2%
75.5%
The year to 31 March 2019
73.1%
75.2%
The year to 31 December 2018
73.1%
75.0%
The year to 30 September 2018
72.6%
75.0%
The year to 30 June 2018
72.6%
74.9%
The year to 31 March 2018
72.8%
74.8%
The year to 31 December 2017
72.4%
74.7%
The year to 30 September 2017
72.0%
74.4%
The year to 30 June 2017
71.6%
74.2%
The year to 31 March 2017
71.5%
74.0%
The year to 31 December 2016
71.2%
73.8%
The year to 30 September 2016
71.1%
73.7%
The year to 30 June 2016
71.3%
73.6%
Economic inactivity
23.7%
The year to 30 June 2026
United Kingdom
20.9%
A year earlier
24.1%(the year to 30 June 2025)
Wales
United Kingdom
The share of people aged 16 to 64 neither in work nor looking for work, over the twelve months to each date, in Wales and the UK.
From the Annual Population Survey, a sample survey: small changes from one period to the next may not be real. Each figure covers twelve months, so the figures for neighbouring dates share most of their months. They differ from the monthly headline labour market figures.
Productivity: every figure in the chart, newest first.
Period
Wales
2023
84.9
2022
83.6
2021
82.5
2020
84.4
2019
86.0
2018
82.7
2017
83.7
2016
83.5
Typical full-time pay
£704
2025 (provisional)
United Kingdom
£767
A year earlier
£676(2024)
Wales
United Kingdom
Median gross weekly pay of full-time employees working in Wales and the UK, in April each year.
Not adjusted for inflation. The figures are for people working in Wales, wherever they live, from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, a sample survey.
Establish a new Economic and Fiscal Commission to help us set targets, collect relevant data and measure progress to make government more accountable for its economic decision making.
Create a new, business‑led National Development Agency, at arms‑length from the Welsh Government, to help Welsh businesses to grow, innovate and trade internationally, secure inward investment, and increase numbers of good quality, well‑paid and sustainable jobs. The agency will work for people across the nation and across the economy.
Reform the Development Bank of Wales and the financial products it offers to support the growth of medium‑sized businesses and ensure that its financing promotes and embeds fair work and a Real Living Wage.
Aim to increase the level spent on procuring goods and services from Wales‑based suppliers towards 70%, using public procurement as a driver of economic growth. We will introduce a new measure of Welsh economic value from public procurement to maximise the economic and social benefits that public spending delivers for Wales.
Develop the supply chain for Welsh timber, using public procurement to stimulate demand, and promote innovation and business growth in the sector, whilst improving resilience and working with the sector to deliver on the Welsh Timber Industrial Strategy.
Use the Town Centre Taskforce to explore the options around revitalising our town centres including bringing empty properties into use as social housing.
Provide more specialist support to create, grow and sustain new co‑operative, employee‑owned, and social businesses, and improve their access to finance through the Development Bank of Wales.
Deliver a new Digital Strategy which will support digitisation and innovation in the Welsh economy, drive forward public service digital transformation, and deliver the conditions to support safe and ethical adoption of AI to support productivity and more efficient public services.
Source: Welsh Government, Programme for government 2026 to 2030: New ambition for Wales, first published on 10 September 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Mentions are found by matching the names of plans, bodies and schemes; a mention says nothing about progress.
Key moments in the Senedd
Statements, debates and legislation in Plenary on this brief, newest first. Oral question sessions are counted in the contributions below.
Each bar is the share of that party's speeches and questions in the Sixth Senedd that touched this brief, so large and small parties can be compared. The upright line marks the chamber as a whole: 6.6%.
50% of Welsh adults said the UK economy would be very important to their vote.
46% of Welsh adults said jobs and wages would be very important to their vote.
37% of Welsh adults said shops and the local town centre or high street would be very important to their vote.
Ipsos asked 747 Welsh adults aged 16+ between 2 April 2026 and 8 April 2026, before the 2026 Senedd election. People could choose as many issues as they liked. More on public opinion.
Written questions
No written questions on this brief in the Sixth Senedd yet.
Petitions
5 petitions to the Senedd on this brief, open ones first, then by signatures:
Welsh food and drink sector growth has generally been considered a success story, with the previous target of £7 billion sales value before 2020 being exceeded ahead of schedule.
This article marks the fourth anniversary of the invasion. It traces Senedd and Welsh Government support for Ukraine and follows our previous articles which are listed at the bottom of this page with links to other useful information.
On 20 January the Welsh Government laid its Final Budget 2026-27. 7% originally proposed in November. In this article we consider the funding across local authorities, which will be debated alongside the Final Budget on Tuesday 27 January.
The Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister is holding a session on 12 December 2025 with the First Minister, Eluned Morgan MS, focusing on issues relating to “Education, young people and future generations”.
Contributions tagged in each month of the Sixth Senedd.Show the numbers
Month
Contributions
January 2024
551
February 2024
547
March 2024
390
April 2024
347
May 2024
259
June 2024
335
July 2024
268
August 2024
3
September 2024
278
October 2024
409
November 2024
118
How this brief is put together
This brief follows the Programme commitments listed above and tags the record with the phrases below. Keyword matching can miss business that discusses the issue in other words, and can tag a passing mention.
Show the phrases it uses
A contribution is tagged when its English text contains one of these phrases. Capital letters don't matter, except in abbreviations, which must match exactly. It is also tagged when the title of the agenda item or question it was part of contains one, as long as the contribution is at least 30 words long. The brief is also tagged whenever one of its themes is.
