§ 21. Mr. St. AubynTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the number of job losses in the Swansea valley over the last six months. [56597]
§ Mr. HainSome job losses are an inevitable part of the environment in a dynamic economy. However, it is important that jobs which are lost are replaced by new ones. Overall, employment in Wales is continuing to rise.
In the Swansea travel to work area, manufacturing industry has suffered a net loss of 582 jobs since the beginning of the year. This does not include the 500 new jobs which I recently announced will be created by International Rectifier with the establishment of their manufacturing plant at Penllergaer, Swansea.