Wales
Young adult unemployment
Key points
- Around one in seven 'economically active' 16- to 24-year-olds in Wales is unemployed. This is around 35,000 people.
- Although the unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds is somewhat lower than a decade ago (15% compared with 17%), all of the fall occurred in the period up to 2004 since when it had been rising. Furthermore it is now four times the rate for older workers, which has almost halved over the last decade.
- The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds in Wales is similar to the UK average.
Graph 1: Over time
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Graph 2: Compared to UK
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Definitions and data sources
The first graph shows the unemployment rate for those aged 16 to 24, compared with those aged 25 and over (up to retirement).
The second graph shows, for the latest year, how unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds in Wales compares with the rest of the UK. To improve its statistical reliability, the data is the average for the latest three years.
'Unemployment' is the ILO definition, which is used for the official government unemployment numbers. It comprises all those with no paid work in the survey week who were available to start work in the next fortnight and who either looked for work in the last month or were waiting to start a job already obtained.
The unemployment rate is the percentage of the economically active population who are unemployed (i.e. the number who are unemployed divided by the number who are either in paid work or unemployed).
The data source for both graphs is the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The figures for each year are the average for the four quarters of the relevant year.
Overall adequacy of the indicator: high. The LFS is a large, well-established, quarterly government survey designed to be representative of the population as a whole.