Dramatic news today – "Wales has the highest unemployment rate in the UK" screams the headline at Walesonline.
"Surely, not," I thought.
"If unemployment in Wales has risen that much - to top the North East and London - then we have problems. That's got to be at least another 35000 on the dole in Wales."
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| Unemployment figures Western Mail style (click to enlarge) |
Not to my surprise, the first sentence of the article was the factually correct but still misleading "Wales has the highest unemployment rate of any of the UK nations". Although unemployment in Wales has risen sharply by 10000 - bad news in anybody's book - it's also risen sharply in many English regions too. The UK Government should be worried by this (and the Welsh Government to an extent).
I hate having to tread over old ground, but back in April I made the point that unemployment statistics are only ever collected on a nations and regions basis. Ironically unemployment in Wales is marginally lower now than it was in April, despite this unwelcome rise.
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| The less dramatic "normal" looking unemployment figures (click to enlarge) |
We live in a globalised world, and are part of a powerful supra-national state in the form of the EU. If the Western Mail really want to use the national angle, they should do so in it's proper context, that is comparing it with the rest of the EU, not just the "British Bubble".
If not, stick to the ONS's nations and regions, of which Wales is far from the worst performing one.
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| Welsh unemployment in an international context - yet again (click to enlarge) |
I realise bad news sells, but Wales isn't going to get a wooden spoon. This isn't the Six Nations.
There are many good things about the Western Mail - in particular its business coverage and it's domestic politics coverage.
I just can't take the paper seriously when it keeps doing stuff like this.
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