Welsh Journals

10. THE WELSH ECONOMY: A STATISTICAL PROFILE David Brooksbank INTRODUCTION This article provides the annual statistical profile of the Welsh economy and is the fourth in the common format introduced in Volume 9 of Contemporary Wales. The review concentrates upon seventeen tables of economic data, with accompanying commentary, covering six topics of interest Output, Income and Expenditure; Employment; Unemployment; Earnings; House Prices; and Regional Competitiveness. The final section on competitiveness summarizes data from the bi-annual publication of indicators by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), by means of gross domestic product per head, household disposable income per head, gross value added per head, total income support claimants and manufacturing investment. This series is one which can be replicated in future editions of this review. The tables are based on information made available prior to 1 July 1999 and, as noted in previous surveys, compilation and production lags with respect to certain official statistics mean that 'latest' figures occasionally 'lag' by two or three years. This is the first review to be completed after the election and formation of the new National Assembly for Wales and reflects the depth and nature of the economic problems and challenges which lie ahead. It is also the last review before the implementation of programmes under the new European structural-funding arrangements and therefore acts as a benchmark from which the success of economic regeneration efforts can be measured in the future. Most of the data are presented at a Unitary Authority (UA) level but where comparisons are made with other UK regions, the profile uses Government Office Regions.