Record Quarterly Rise for Employment in Scotland

17/08/2016 - Employment in Scotland rose by 51,000 during the three months to June – the largest quarterly rise on record – according to official figures released today.

The number of those in employment in Scotland now stands at 2,629,000, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Labour market statistics also showed that the unemployment rate fell by 1 percentage point during the second quarter, with the number of jobless falling by 26,000 to stand at 143,000 – its lowest level since 2009.

However, the Scottish unemployment rate of 5.2 per cent remains above the rate of 4.9 per cent for the whole of the UK, while the employment rate of 74.1 per cent also lags behind the UK average of 74.5 per cent.

Jamie Hepburn, minister for employability and training, said: “There is much to be welcomed from these figures, including 65,000 more people being employed now than at the pre-recession high.

“However, we know that there is more that we can and must do. The Scottish economy has strong fundamentals, but as businesses face uncertainty during negotiations over our future relationship with the EU, we will ensure we work hard to protect Scotland’s relationship with the EU, and strive to make the most of current and future opportunities in our economy.”

ONS figures for the UK as a whole revealed that unemployment fell by 52,000 to 1.64 million between April and June.

Secretary of state for Scotland David Mundell said: “While we cannot be complacent as we enter a period of adjustment, today’s figures show that we enter the EU negotiations from a position of strength. Our continued priority must still be to work closely with the Scottish Government as ‘team UK’ to promote economic growth and prosperity.”

Source: Scotsman