Gordon Brown has said Labour is committed to establishing full employment in Wales.

Launching an election campaign poster in Cardiff on Monday, the chancellor said unemployment had already been drastically reduced in Wales since Labour took office.

In 1997 the number of people out of work stood at 81,000, but that has been halved and is now at its lowest level for almost 30 years, said Brown.

"In 1997 there were over 4,000 Welsh young people long term unemployed, today that figure is 200," he added.

The chancellor also pointed to the creation of 11,000 new businesses over the last two years as a sign of Labour's success.

"But we are not complacent and we will not relax. We are determined to move to full employment in every community," he said.

"There are today 18,000 vacancies that need to be filled."

Personalisation

Addressing continuing unemployment problems would need more local decision making and more personalisation, Brown argued.

He set out a series of measures including more local discretion to purchase training and support - and new specialist programmes to help people with specific problems such as drug addiction.

"In return for local discretion, a new performance regime will accord higher rewards to top jobcentre managers with provision to change the management of the worst performing," the chancellor added.

"Devolved flexible skills budgets will enable local skills advisers to help people gain the skills they need to move off welfare and into work, and then win promotion and develop their career.

"And in this summer's spending review we will announce further measures to bring jobs and training to remaining areas of high unemployment in Wales."