Unemployment in Wales has gone down for the first time in six months. Figures for January to March show those out of work has decreased by 10,000 to 112,000. Just two of the 22 local authority areas in Wales showed rises compared to the previous year with Pembrokeshire seeing the highest rise of 0.3 per cent and Cardiff rising 0.1%.
A plan for a new Conwy jetty will be approved despite its cost being near to doubling. The visitor attraction will be built, even though its new cost will be in the region of £400,000. Some fishermen and yacht owners said they needed better access because the present jetty is silting up.
More strikes are due to take place at five Jobcentre Plus offices in Wales over working conditions and targets. Staff are taking part in action at Bangor, Newport, Bridgend, Pembroke Dock, and Caerphilly after talks broke down.
Peter Hughes, senior regional officer for the union Unite based in Flint, explained it was a tough time for the total of 445 staff who work at Toyota’s Deeside factory. He said the order book was full but that the supply of parts was a problem at the plant. The firm has had to devise contingency measures between it and union officials after Japan’s natural disasters caused supply problems.
Wales suffered a shock rise in its jobless in the latest quarterly labour market figures. They showed 126,000 people are out of work in Wales between December 2010 and February, which is an increase of 3,000 on the previous quarter.
An enterprise aimed at helping up to 800 Welsh businesses boost performance has been revealed. The scheme will be led by Coleg Llandrillo Cymru in Rhos-on-Sea, in partnership with Coleg Menai, Deeside College and Coleg Harlech, and will give sector specific training.
Hoya Lens in Wrexham is cutting 160 jobs at its factory in Wrexham. The first posts at Hoya will go this month (April) with a phased period of redundancies until November. A company spokesperson said it will still retain the Wrexham base to reassure fears that it would close. "Morale is not very high," added the spokesperson.
A £4.3 million makeover for a primary school in Wrexham should be completed by the end of the year. The project has been approved by Wrexham council of the development at Park Primary School at Llay. A new extension will be built for the infant and pre-school class and road access will be improved.
The site of a South Wales hotel demolished after a blaze in the centre of Tenby has been approved for major redevelopment. The plans include apartments, a hotel, commercial units and a new cinema. A portion of the site is where the Royal Gatehouse Hotel stood before it was gutted by a fire in 2008.
An investigation conducted by BBC Wales has found businesses in many parts of Wales are stepping into the breach as the number of public toilets decreases. Gwynedd has 86 traditional public toilets, as well as 36 premises offering use of their ‘loos’ under an assembly government scheme to encourage businesses to open up to the public.