NEW figures released by the Office of National Statistics today, Tuesday, show employment is at a record high across Wales.

Reports show that the employment rate for Wales is 76.2%, higher than the national rate of 75.8%.

Ken Skates AM, Minister for Economy and Transport, spoke about the figures in a press conference this morning.

He said: “News that the employment rate in Wales is now at a historic high and above the average for the UK is hugely welcome.

“It is particularly pleasing that our employment rate has increased more quickly than the UK as a whole, both on the quarter and on the year. Meanwhile, the economic inactivity rate in Wales is now below that of the UK, having fallen by 3.2 percentage points over the last year.”

Figures also show that unemployment remains at a low 4.1% across Wales.

In Wales, there has also been a large fall in the number of people counted as ‘economically inactive’.

This category is for people who are not available for work for health reasons, being in full-time education or carer responsibilities and are not counted in unemployment figures.

For those in Flintshire, there are plenty of upcoming opportunities to help find employment.

There will be a Flintshire Jobs, Skills and Careers event with more than 20 potential employers attending on April 11 at Deeside Leisure Centre from 10am until 2pm.

The Flintshire and Denbighshire Employer Adviser teams are also working on a Jobs Fair - focusing on careers on hospitality, care and education - to be held In Rhyl Town Hall on February 21, from 10am until 2pm.

In addition to the normal support through Jobcentre locations through Flintshire, a regular ‘Jobs Club’ is held from 1pm until 3pm across local libraries. These are Flint Library on Tuesday’s, Connah’s Quay and Mold Library on Wednesday’s and Buckley Library on Thursday’s.