Economy gets ‘vote of confidence’ as employment hits high

Unemployment falls by fastest rate in UK outside of London

Scotland’s employment rate has hit a record high while unemployment has fallen by the fastest rate in the UK outside London, new figures have shown.

The jobless rate is 3.9% after a drop of 12,000 in April to June, down 0.5% on the previous three months, sitting at 107,000.

The UK unemployment rate fell 0.2% in the same period to 4.4%, while the London rate fell 0.6% to 5.5%.

Official figures from the Office for National Statistics show Scotland’s employment rate has hit a record high of 75.2%, marginally above the UK figure of 75.1%.

The number of employed people in Scotland rose 30,000 between April and June compared to the previous three months and the 1.1% rise was the fastest rate in the UK, equalled by London.

There are now 2,650,000 people in employment in Scotland – 86,000 more than the pre-recession peak.

Economy Secretary Keith Brown said: “This is a further vote of confidence in our economy, coming after GDP figures showing Scotland’s growth rate was four times faster than that of the UK over the last quarter and recent reports of accelerating growth across the private sector.”

Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: “It is good news that Scotland’s employment has reached a record high. Unemployment is at a near historic low, at 3.9%, which is a trend I hope to see continue.

“The UK Government will continue to work to strengthen Scotland’s economy and I encourage the Scottish Government to continue to use their economic levers to increase Scotland’s prosperity.”

However, Britain’s productivity has sunk for the second quarter in a row, maintaining the nation’s dismal track record since the financial crisis.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said output per hour dropped by 0.1% during the three months to June, compared with a 0.5% fall for the first of quarter of 2017.

Productivity, which measures how many goods and services UK workers produce per hour, has struggled to bounce back from the weak levels seen in the wake of the 2008 banking crisis.

Economic adviser Howard Archer said:“Given the uncertain economic and political outlook, it may be that several companies are trying to meet extra work by taking on labour rather than commit to investment.”

“This is a trend I hope to see continue. SCOTTISH SECRETARY DAVID MUNDELL,