Unemployment rises 14,000 in three months

SCOTLAND’S jobless total has risen by 14,000 over three months to stand at 145,000.

The increase means the unemployment rate jumped by 0.6 per cent over the quarter to 5.3 per cent – putting the rate for Scotland above that of the UK as whole.

Across Britain, 4.8 per cent of the workforce are not in a job, a 10-year low achieved after unemployment fell by 16,000 over August to October to 1.62 million.

As well as the increase in the Scottish unemployment figures, the data from the Office for National Statistics showed the number of Scots in work had fallen by 40,000 over the three months to stand at 2,592,000.

Scotland’s 73.3 per cent employment rate is now worse than the UK’s 74.4 per cent. There was a slight drop in the number of people in Scotland who are out of work and claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, which fell by 200 to 54,100 in November.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: “These statistics underline the importance of the draft budget. The UK Government is building an economy that works for everyone across the UK. We are supporting jobs and growth by keeping business taxes low and investing in infrastructure.

“As a direct result of the UK Government’s decisions last month, there will be City Deal for every city in Scotland, more than £820 million of extra funding and new support for digital infrastructure and research and development. The Scottish Government holds the main levers to strengthen the economy.”