12,000 more out of work as Scots economy trails the UK

THE number of Scots in work fell by 12,000 last year as the economy continues to lag behind the rest of the UK.

Employment fell behind the rest of the country, dropping to 73.4 per cent north of the Border compared with 74.6 per cent elsewhere.

Official figures yesterday revealed that numbers of ‘economically inactive’ – who include the retired and students – soared by 60,000 in only 12 months.

The Office for National Statistics report also pointed to a drop in the number of unemployed – but experts say this could be explained by the rise in numbers falling off the Government’s jobseekers radar.

The latest figures follow news that Scotland’s economy shrank by 0.2 per cent in the final quarter of last year as the UK’s grew by 8 per cent. Another three months of the same, and Scotland could be in recession for the first time in five years.

Yesterday, the Scottish Government continued to blame Brexit, claiming that leaving the EU was the ‘biggest threat’ to the workforce. However, opponents hit back at SNP ministers, claiming growth elsewhere put the blame at Holyrood’s door. Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: ‘While there is some good news in these figures, the falling employment numbers and rising inactivity statistics are a real cause for concern.

‘They also come on the back of worrying GDP figures last week. The Scottish Government now needs to act urgently to secure the Scottish economy and help more people into work.

‘Holyrood has new powers over tax and welfare, with tools to shape Scotland’s economy. Rather than obsess about the constitution, ministers need to focus on strengthening the economy and backing business to create jobs.’

The latest official figures show the number of Scots in work fell by 8,000 between September and November 2016 and by 12,000 over the year to 2,596,000.

The number ‘economically inactive’ rose to 2,719,000 last year, an increase of 24,000 in the last quarter. Included in this category are people with illness, disability, or those looking after family or the home full-time. Unemployment fell 47,000 on the previous year to 123,000. This puts Scotland’s jobless rate at 4.5 per cent – compared to 4.7 per cent in the UK.

David Eiser, of economic research body the Fraser of Allander Institute, has warned that the movement of people from unemployed to economically inactive is the start of a ‘worrying’ trend.

He said: ‘With revenues from income tax now devolved to the Scottish parliament, a weak labour market will feed through to weaker tax revenue growth for the Scottish Government.’

SNP employability minister Jamie Hepburn said: ‘These latest figures show Scotland’s labour market remains resilient.

‘The biggest threat continues to be a hard Brexit, which threatens to cost the country £11billion a year and 80,000 jobs over a decade.’

But Tory finance spokesman Murdo Fraser said: ‘The truth is that Scotland is suffering from an SNP slowdown.’