Scottish unemployment remains stable at 164,000

According to official figures, between May and July, the unemployment rate stood at 5.9 per cent, compared with 5.5 per cent for the UK as a whole.

The data from the Office for National Statistics said UK unemployment rose by 10,000 between May and July to 1.82 million.

Meanwhile, employment in Scotland fell by 12,000 over the three months, and now stands at 2,612,000.

The number of people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) fell by 2,300 to 69,800 between July and August.

Youth employment in Scotland has increased by 25,000 over the year and is now at its highest level for this time of year since 2005.

Scotland has a higher youth employment rate and a lower youth unemployment rate than the UK as a whole.

Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: “This is a crucial time for the Scottish economy. We have seen consistent economic growth over a period of almost three years and we continue to have low interest rates, low inflation and relatively low levels of unemployment. The solution to getting unemployment back on a downward path will be to ensure that the demand for skills from businesses is matched by the supply of skills in the labour market. Achieving this will require a wide variety of positive actions from a range of skills providers such as our educational institutions and employers themselves, as well as governments north and south of the border.

“In particular, we must focus on the provision of appropriate skills for young people to enter tomorrow’s jobs market, the capacity for existing workers and the unemployed to upskill and the need to ensure that opportunities exist for everyone, including people with disabilities, to put their skills to use through employment.”

The UK government’s Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: “The government’s long-term plan has laid the foundations for a stronger economy.

“It is almost exactly a year since Scotland made the historic decision to remain part of the UK.

“In those 12 months we have seen further improvements in the Scottish Labour market with employment increasing and unemployment falling.”

Scottish Fair Work Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “I am particularly pleased to see improvements in youth employment figures in the same week that the Scottish government has given Scotland’s local authorities an additional £5.8m to deliver a range of activity to support more young people into jobs.

“This is further evidence that the road Scotland has taken, to bring schools, college and employers together, is the right one. I expect to see further progress in the coming months as we push for a 40% reduction in youth unemployment by 2021.”