Employment Figures

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:16 pm on 16 July 2019.

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Photo of David Rowlands David Rowlands UKIP 2:16, 16 July 2019

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?