Unemployment rate in Wales falls to 99,000

The unemployment rate has fallen in Wales to 99,000 with 3,000 more people finding work from October to December compared to the previous three months.

However, there are more people who are not working or unable to work.

The unemployment rate now stands at 6.7%, according to figures released by the Office of National Statistics.

It compares to 5.7% across the UK where the number of people out of work fell by 97,000 to 1.86 million.

A Welsh government spokesman said: "Employment in Wales has continued to improve and remains steady at a level well above the historic average, while unemployment is lower than at the same time last year."

Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Crabb said: "It's clear from these latest figures that we need to keep working hard to see the positive long-term trend in employment continue.

"We've always said that the road to recovery is not straightforward and there are still challenges in securing long-term growth across all parts of the country."

Analysis by BBC Wales' economics correspondent Sarah Dickins

This shows more people have moved from being jobless and not looking for work to being unemployed but looking.

That is why employment and unemployment are both rising.

Comparing today's figures with the same period in 2013, there are 7,000 fewer people unemployed in Wales.

That is the smallest decline in the UK.

Figures published last month for the period between September and November 2014 showed there were 43,000 fewer people employed compared with September - November 2013.

The good news is that those figures have narrowed.