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Time to offer hope to those forgotten by the political class
Economic productivity is an age-old problem in Wales – it will continue to be so unless we offer genuine and sustainable solutions to the big economic questions, argues Plaid Cymru economy spokesperson LUKE FLETCHER MS

IN A question to the Welsh Economy Minister this week, I asked what he thought were the reasons for being optimistic about the Welsh economy: what awaits the young people here other than staggering rent hikes, stagnant wages and dearth of opportunity? 

I did so following yet another publication from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) — one in a series of publications in recent months — in which the glaring weaknesses within the Welsh economy were thrown into very sharp relief.

The figures showed that rates of unemployment in Wales were 4.6 per cent — this is 1.6 points up on last year and compares to a UK-wide rate of 3.9 per cent. 

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