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Wales has seen the biggest rise in the employment rate of all the nations and regions of the UK in the last three months and compared with a year ago.

Figures for Wales showed between June and August there were 35,000 more employed than in the previous quarter.

There were 60,000 more people in work compared with a year earlier.

This means in the last year the employment rate has risen 2.6 percentage points, compared with the UK average of 0.4 percentage points.

In the last year Wales also seen the greatest fall in the rate of "economic inactivity", which counts the number of people who are unavailable to work because they are either sick, caring for someone, studying full-time or have taken early retirement.

This group are not counted in unemployment figures.

There are 49,000 fewer economically inactive people in Wales than in the same period last year.

The proportion of working-age people who are economically inactive in Wales is now 21.9% - lower than Scotland, Northern Ireland, Yorkshire and Humber, the north-west of England and the north-east of England.

Unemployment rate

The jobless rate in Wales remains at 3.8%.

This is unchanged from the figures published a month ago by the Office for National Statistics and lower than the average for the UK of 4%.

Only the south-west and the east of England have lower rates of unemployment.

These latest figures show there were 10,000 fewer unemployed people in Wales compared with March to May.

Proportionally that is the biggest fall of all the nations and regions of the UK.

First Minister Carwyn Jones said the figures were testament to the Welsh Government's work to support businesses and make it easier for people to access jobs.

He added: "With a Brexit deal still yet to be secured, these are increasingly uncertain times. We will continue to do all we can to strengthen Wales' economy in innovative and effective ways so we are in the strongest possible position to face the challenges ahead."

The Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns MP said Wales was showing an "increasingly confident and entrepreneurial face to the world".

"An ambitious and growing private business sector has had a key part to play in this, bolstered by the support measures put in place by the UK government that enables our private sector to flourish and helps build an economy that works for everyone," he said.