Look at Wales

Wales has a land area of more than 8,000 square miles (21,000 square kilometres) and is 160 miles long by 60 miles wide, with tracts of high plateaux with mountain ranges deeply dissected by river valleys radiating from the centre of the upland area. The lowland area is mainly a narrow coastal belt and the valley floors. Snowdon is the highest mountain at 3,650 feet. The main cities are Cardiff, Swansea and Newport; with the Welsh Assembly, which opened in 1999, having limited autonomy on economy, environment, health, social services, education and culture. The coastline is almost 750 miles long, and there are 20,000 miles of roads and over 4,000 square kilometres of national parks. The usual language is English although around 20 per cent of the population speak Welsh.

The Welsh economy is undergoing a lengthy period of structural change, moving from one dominated by heavy industries such as coal and steel to a much broader base of modern manufacturing and services. This has seen more than 200,000 jobs absorbed by the rest of the economy from declining industries in the past 30 years.

The total population is very nearly 3 million (increasing although ageing and around 5 per cent of the UK total) with an average adult weekly wage of nearly £400. While manufacturing still accounts for 27 per cent of GDP, real estate, renting and business activities (15 per cent), and wholesale and retail (11 per cent), are also major economic sectors. Health and social work (9 per cent), transport, storage and communication (6 per cent), construction (5 per cent), and hotels and restaurants (4 per cent), make up the next tier of economic activity; while traditional sectors – agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing (2 per cent), and mining and quarrying (1 per cent) – have now been overtaken.

Nevertheless, tourism is a key employer and revenue earner for Wales, with its wealth of holiday cottages and private hotels.Sheep farming is predominant in the mountains and moorlands, dairy and mixed farming around the coast. The old heavy industries that once made the Welsh capital port of Cardiff the busiest in the world have declined to such an extent that even coal mining has almost ceased in Wales. British, English and multinational companies have been attracted to Wales by generous incentives, while recent years have seen strong growth in the science and technology sectors.

More than 100,000 more people in Wales are employed now than was the case in 1999, while the unemployment rate has been at or below the UK level for the last two years. There has been a 50,000 reduction in economic inactivity among those of working age over the same period, against a rising trend in the UK as a whole. The employment rate of people of working age is 72 per cent (UK – 75 per cent) while the unemployment rate has risen from 4.5 per cent to 5.8 per cent during the past year (UK is currently 5.5 per cent). Welsh exports total around £7 billion annually, and the country regularly outperforms the UK on tourism. A greater proportion of people participate in learning in Wales (42 per cent) than in the rest of the UK.

The economy continues to thrive in heavily populated areas and along the M4 corridor towards Bridgend, although Service leavers may have to commute up to 50 miles to find affordable housing. The public sector remains the largest employer in South Wales; although salaries are generally poor other benefits can compensate. Service leavers may have difficulty accessing managerial positions initially.

The environment and quality of life in Wales are both good, and the cost of living is relatively low; house prices, in particular, are low compared to average incomes. GDP per head in Wales is now about 80 per cent of the average for the UK.

Opportunities and skills shortages

The construction industry continues to have acute skills shortages; well-paid jobs for skilled and qualified tradesmen are plentiful. Employment in aviation is very competitive, particularly with reductions at DARA. Service leavers with civilian licences are more likely to find work than those without them. Increased foreign investment should expand the sector in the future.

Recently, the steel industry has suffered, manufacturing faces severe competitive pressures and the rural economy has enormous challenges. Growth in service industries – particularly retailing, transport, communications, hotels and catering – is likely to slow. Although this will act as a drag on the Welsh economy, the burgeoning public sector, including health and education, is expected to remain strong, as are the financial and business services sector.

Employer news

Major employers continue to include the public sector (including the police, prison service and the NHS), the steel industry, call centres and manufacturing throughout the principality.

Salaries

A rough guide to annual salaries is given below. This is inevitably very general and there will be variations between industries and also in various parts of the region.

Manual £10,000 to £15,000

Semi-skilled and supervisory £13,000 to £21,000

Skilled £17,000 to £26,000

Managerial £20,000 to £35,000

Executive £35,000 and upwards

House price guide

The following prices are a rough guide only to property prices and are liable to overnight change as financial factors in the country as well as in the region affect housing.

Location 2-bed flat 2-bed terrace 3-bed semi 4-bed detached

City £160,000 £170,000 £190,000 £280,000

Town £110,000 £130,000 £160,000 £200,000

Country £85,000 £90,000 £100,000 £150,000