6. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's employment figures? OAQ54270

At the end of June, the Welsh Government employed the full-time equivalent of 5,251 staff. Figures on the number of staff employed are published periodically on the Welsh Government’s website.

Well, I thank the First Minister for his answer, but in answer to a similar question I asked last week, you said that Wales had record employment levels, record low unemployment and a record number of people in work. Whilst I welcome these comments at face value, when we analysed the figures behind your statement, it would appear that the picture is not as rosy as at first you may assert. It appears that the majority of new jobs created are either in the public sector or the third sector. And, again, if we analyse those that are created in the private sector, we find that they are either agency workers or, worse still, zero-hours contracts. There has long been an imbalance in Wales with regard to the public sector being far too large for the private sector to support. Could the First Minister tell us what measures he is putting in place to redress this over-reliance on growth in the public sector workforce and to expand good, well-paid jobs in the private sector?

Well, Llywydd, I simply won't join in this old and hackneyed mantra of 'private good, public bad'. It's simply not true and it's never had traction here in Wales or on the floor of this Assembly. But the Member is, in any case, simply factually wrong. The growth in employment in Wales comes far more from private sector employment than it does from public sector employment. He's simply wrong in what he has said here this afternoon. That's where the growth in employment in Wales has come from. He's also wrong to repeat that tired old assertion that the jobs that are created in Wales are not jobs worth having. More than half the jobs created in Wales in the last decade have been in the top three occupational classes. So, these very old and tired ideas that the Welsh economy is overbalanced in favour of the public sector—that's not true. We have a vibrant public sector that crowds in private sector activity, and there's more growth in private jobs than public jobs. The jobs that are created are concentrated in the better-paid jobs, not the worst-paid jobs. That's the truth of the Welsh economy, and the dismal picture that he paints of it simply is not true. 

In the Rhondda, where we have a stubborn problem with underemployment as well as unemployment, there is a newly formed co-operative of highly skilled garment workers, formerly employed by Burberry, who hope to do something about that. This group were led to believe that Welsh Government money would be available to them for capital investment so that they could set up and, as a first order, make the current and new uniforms for Transport for Wales. This proposal had the backing of the RMT union in Wales, but for some reason the Welsh Government has suddenly cooled. This cooling period coincided with around £1.5 million committed to Ebbw Vale, where there are no workers with these particular skills. The Treorchy Burberry co-operative have been told that there still may be some money available for them in the future, but there are no promises and there are no guarantees. After initial enthusiasm, these people have been left in the dark. First Minister, what assurances can you provide to this co-operative about future funding and contracts? Will you and the economy Minister agree to meet with this co-operative as soon as possible to make their realistic hopes a reality? I am convinced that this might not just be an exciting opportunity for the Rhondda, but in the future could also be a major contributor to the Welsh economy and eventually quite a significant employer. So, will you revive your original enthusiasm for this project?   

Llywydd, I'm aware of the garment workers' co-operative idea, and I know some of the people who've been at the heart of developing the idea. So, the positive case for it is one that I think the Member rightly makes. I think it's a shame that she then goes on to try and divide people who are in disadvantage by trying to make a contrast between one part of Wales and another. That's not the way to build support for this idea. I'm not aware myself directly of any cooling on the part Welsh Government in our support for the idea of the garment workers' co-operative. I'll have further discussions with ministerial colleagues, of course, to find the latest state of play in relation to it. If the scheme is worth supporting, we will certainly want to support it, and we won't be supporting it on the basis that it's a competition between those workers and workers elsewhere in Wales.