Scottish unemployment falls by 15,000

The jobless rate dropped by 0.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent in the three months to February, while the rate for the UK as a whole was unchanged at 4.7 per cent.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data also showed that employment north of the border fell by 0.1 per cent to reach 2,596,000.

It now stands at 73.4 per cent - below the UK average of 74.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, average weekly earnings, including bonuses, increased by 2.3 per cent - the same as in the year to January.

On Tuesday, figures showed inflation was running at 2.3 per cent, above the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target.

Scotland’s minister for employability and training Jamie Hepburn, said: “Despite economic challenges these latest figures show Scotland’s labour market remains resilient with unemployment falling and our female employment rates and youth unemployment rates outperforming the UK.

“While we are doing all we can to support employment, clearly the biggest threat to Scotland’s labour market continues to be a hard Brexit, which threatens to cost our economy up to £11 billion a year from 2030, and cost the country 80,000 jobs over a decade. The Scottish Government will continue to pursue all options to retain our relationship with Europe, our place in the single market and all the advantages that brings.

“We recognise that there are still many barriers to get people into work which is why our priority is to support Scotland’s economy by stimulating investment in new and early-stage business through our £500 million Scottish Growth Scheme and investing in our £6 billion infrastructure plan.

“Our Scottish approach to apprenticeships and training, and actions to tackle the gender pay gap is setting us apart from the rest of the UK while we are committed to increasing participation in the labour market.

“Having a long-term illness or disability is the most common reason for those aged 16 to 64 being economically inactive so our aim is to take a fairer approach to getting people into work through our newly devolved employability services which will support people with health conditions and disabilities. The transitional services Work First Scotland and Work Able Scotland launched earlier this month and we are on track to deliver a distinctly Scottish programme of support, Fair Start Scotland, from April 2018.”