Scottish Unemployment Falls and Employment at a Record Level

SCOTTISH UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS AND EMPLOYMENT AT A RECORD LEVEL

Scotland's latest jobs figures show an increase in employment to a record high and a fall in inactivity.

Scotland’s employment rate increased by 1.1 percentage points to 75.2% over the quarter, meaning 30,000 more people in employment, according to labour market figures for April to June published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

There are now 2,650,000 people employed in Scotland, 86,000 more than the pre-recession peak and above the UK rate.

Over the quarter, the inactivity rate fell 0.7 percentage points to 21.8%. The unemployment rate fell over the quarter to 3.9%, below the UK figure of 4.4%.

Economy Secretary Keith Brown said:

“These latest figures show continued resilience in our labour market, with 30,000 more people in work compared with this time last year and the unemployment rate falling by 1.2 percentage points over the year. The employment rate has risen to. its highest on record, with more people in work than ever before, while the unemployment rate is close to record lows.

“This is a further vote of confidence in our economy, coming after Gross Domestic Product figures showing Scotland’s growth rate was four times faster than the UK's over the last quarter and recent reports of accelerating growth across the private sector."

Added Patricia Gibson MP:

"These figures show how hard the SNP Government is working to boost jobs and the Scottish economy.

“It is also encouraging to see that we continue to perform strongly in female participation, with the female unemployment rate falling by 0.9 percentage points over the year to 3.6%. Scotland’s female unemployment rate continues to be lower than the UK's.

"Youth unemployment has fallen from 14.6% in 2007 to 8.4%, and is now among the lowest of all 28 EU countries."

Labour Market Statistics for April to June