Number in work falls by 17,000

THE number of people in work in Scotland fell by 17,000 between December and February, according to data.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figure fell to 2,645,000, although the employment rate among people under 65 remained steady at 75 per cent.

The ONS data also showed 115,000 Scots were classed as unemployed and looking for work, a rise of 3,000.

The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.2%, the same rate as the Uk-wide figure.

Employability and training minister Jamie Hepburn said: “Scotland’s employment rate has increased over the year, with 81,000 more people in employment compared to the pre- recession peak while our unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points over the year to 4.2% and has been lower or the same as the UK for 13 of the past 14 months.

“We continue to outperform the UK on employment and unemployment rates for young people and women, with 71.9% of women and 57.3% of young people in employment in Scotland compared to 71% of women and 53.9% of young people in the UK.”

However, business leaders called the figures weak.

Andy Willox, the Federation of Small Businesses’ Scottish policy convener, said: “Scotland’s smaller businesses have a great record of creating jobs and opportunities.

“Governments in Edinburgh and London can do more to charge these firms with confidence about the future. For starters, we could look again at how the state buys goods and services.”