Scottish unemployment rises

The rise over the summer months contrasted with the UK as a whole which saw the number of unemployed fall by more than 100,0000 over the same period, to stand at 1.75 million.

According to official statistics, the Scottish unemployment rate is 6 per cent, which is above the rate of 5.3 per cent for the whole of the UK.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data also showed that employment in Scotland increased by 3,000, to reach 2,614,000.

The number of people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA), dropped by 1,700 to 68,800 between September and October - 20,200 fewer than a year ago.

Scotland also continues to outperform the UK as a whole on employment (74.1 per cent), youth employment (63.1 per cent) and female employment (71.1 per cent) rates.

After increasing by 34,000 over the year, youth employment is at its highest July to September level since 2008.

The statistics also show that labour market participation increased by 14,000 over the quarter to reach 2,780,000.

The UK government’s Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: “The labour market performance in Scotland is mixed with the number of people in employment at historically high levels but unemployment starting to move upwards.

“We will monitor the gap with the UK unemployment rate while continuing to pursue our policies for a low tax and higher wage economy that will benefit Scottish workers.”

Speaking from the Muslim Women’s Resource Centre – which boosts employability in minority ethnic communities – Scotland’s secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training, Roseanna Cunningham, said: “I am pleased to note the increases in the employment level. Although more work is required to ensure more young people find employment, it is good to know that 34,000 more people aged between 16 and 24 have found work since last year and that Scotland continues to perform better than the UK as a whole on this crucial indicator.

“Challenges do exist. For example, there has been a small 0.1 percentage point year-on-year rise in the unemployment rate to 6 per cent. In addition, recent economic growth has been driven, in part, by continued infrastructure investment by the Scottish public sector. This investment is threatened by the cuts the UK Government plans to implement to achieve its fiscal mandate. We also have concerns about the impact of UK cuts on wider business and investor confidence.”