Skip to main content

THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN WALES IS TOO SMALL?

Last year, the First Minister, in an interview with Andrew Marr, made the statement that "our problem is...that our private sector is too small. We have to do more to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit that does exist in Wales".

As the previous blogpost argues, there seems to be little within the Labour manifesto to "unleash the entrepreneurial spirit" as Carwyn Jones suggests, especially given their new policy focus on large companies in Wales.

Indeed, in previous interviews, he has emphasised the point that, stating that  “It’s sometimes said that the public sector in Wales is too large. I disagree; the public sector appears large because the private sector is too small.”

But what has happened to the private and public sectors during the last Assembly Government?

Examining data for public and private employment in wales shows that during the first three years of the Labour-Plaid administration:
  •  private sector employment in Wales had reduced by 34,000 in June 2010, a fall of 4 per cent as compared to June 2007. The biggest falls were to be found in Blaenau Gwent (-19%), Torfaen (-14 per cent) and Conwy (-11 per cent), all local authorities within the European Union Convergence areas of Wales. 
  • 69.2 per cent of all employees in Wales are to be found in the private sector. The highest proportion of private sector employment by county is to be found in Flintshire, Pembrokeshire, Caerphilly, Newport and Monmouthshire.
  • public sector employment increased during the same period by 11,000 (or 3 per cent). Interestingly, the biggest beneficiaries during this period were not only Ceredigion (21% increase) and Isle of Anglesey (16% increase) but two counties which had seen a fall in private sector employment - Conwy (15% increase) and Blaenau Gwent (15% increase). 
  • Overall, 30.8 per cent of all those employed in Wales are to be found in the public sector in June 2010. The counties with the highest proportion of public sector workers are Ceredigion (35.6%), Isle of Anglesey (35.6%) and Cardiff (35.4%)

So what we find is that the Welsh public sector has continued to grow under the last Assembly Government whilst the Welsh private sector has declined.

If we look at the statistics available for Wales for the period 2001-2010, we see that the private sector in Wales has been declining in relative importance, at least in terms of employment, since the First Assembly Government.


In fact, during the period 2011-2010, the actual number of those employed in the public sector in Wales has increased by 67,000. In contrast, the number employed in the private sector has declined by 12,400.

The First Minister may be correct in saying that the private sector in Wales is too small but, as the statistics above show, there has been little success by successive Labour-led governments in Wales in addressing this issue during the last decade.

Indeed, assuming the premise, from the statements made during the last few weeks- that Labour politicians do not want to cut any public sector jobs in Wales - then to achieve the balance of private:public sector employment last seen in 2001 i.e. ensuring that our private sector is not "too small", the Labour Party would need to create an additional 170,000 private sector jobs over the term of the next Assembly to achieve this.

Unfortunately, there seems to be little evidence within their manifesto that they have any plan to go any way towards making this a reality.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE IMPORTANCE OF FRANCHISING

When we talk about start-ups and entrepreneurship, rarely do we discuss the potential of franchising not only as a way of establishing new ventures in the economy but also as a method of growing existing businesses. According to the British Franchising Association, franchising is the granting of a licence by one person (the franchisor) to another (the franchisee), which entitles the franchisee to own and operate their own business under the brand, systems and proven business model of the franchisor. The franchisee also receives initial training and ongoing support, comprising all the elements necessary to establish a previously untrained person in the business. This enables individuals to start their own businesses without having to develop their own ideas and utilising an existing brand and established market. Of course, whilst each franchise business is owned and operated by the franchisee, the franchisor controls the quality and standards of the way in which the business is...
Read more

THE CRACHACH

Unlike me, do you consider yourself part of 'the establishment' here in Wales?  As thousands gather for the Eisteddfod in Mold this morning, they will, according to some social commentators, not be participating in the greatest cultural festivals of Europe. Instead, they will merely be bit-part players in one of the annual gatherings of the great and good of Wales.  Unkindly, this set of the movers and shakers in Welsh society is known as 'the crachach' , and constitute a social class all of their own, dominating the educational, cultural and media sectors of Wales and allegedly looking down upon any outsider with new ideas, reinforcing mediocrity and failing to see beyond the limits of their own narrow experience.  They are said to live in a comfort zone that awaits the expected invitation to the next glass of chilled chardonnay and canapés, forgetting that due to their lack of leadership and drive, Wales remains firmly rooted to the bottom of the UK prosperity league ...
30 comments
Read more

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CREATIVE CLASSES

One of my favourite academic books of the last two decades must be the “Rise of the Creative Classes” by Professor Richard Florida.  This was one of the first detailed studies of the growing group of individuals who use their creativity and mental labour to earn a living and not only included those in arts and entertainment, but also people working in science and technology as well as knowledge-based professions such as healthcare, law, business, and finance.  Fast forward to 2022 and Professor Florida has written an updated report on the creative classes although he and his team now identify a different type of individual who is taking full advantage of the growth in digital platforms, social media, and online marketplaces.  Such ‘creators’ are defined as those who use digital technology to make and publish unique creative content, whether in the form of video, film, art, music, design, text, games, or any other media that audiences can access and respond to.  They ...
Read more