<p>Economic Development</p>

Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:04 pm on 7 February 2017.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 2:04, 7 February 2017

Bear in mind, of course, that it was his party that was in charge of economic development for four years, so it is not as if his party have no role in this. We saw GDP go down then, and it shows—[Interruption.] It shows—[Interruption.] Well, I know; that’s easily forgotten, that, isn’t it, but there we are. It does show the challenges that exist in terms of raising GDP. The key to it all, for me, is skills. The more skills people have, the more they can earn, the higher their GDP actually goes. We have shown that we can deliver. As I say, employment 4.1 per cent—lower than England, Scotland and Northern Ireland—the best figures for foreign direct investment for 30 years, and GDP is now the challenge. Unemployment is not as much of an issue as GDP. It’s going in the right direction, and we’ll continue to equip our people with the skills that they need in order to increase their productivity, that much is true, but also, of course, to increase GDP per head as well.