Fears over growth after spike in jobless total

● 5,000 more Scots out of work ● SNP urged to use ‘enormous’ power

Scotland’s jobless total has risen again, while the number of people in work is down, official figures it has emerged.

Business chiefs are now calling on the Scottish Government to use its “enormous power” over public spending to boost growth.

The number of Scots out of work increased by 5,000 to 118,000 between November and January, while those with a job fell by 8,000 to 2.64 million.

The jobless hike follows an 8,000 increase in the previous quarter, although the jobless figure is down over the year by 9,000.

It is the latest gloomy news for Scotland’s economy after a report by accounting giants PWC this week found Scotland is expected to achieve the lowest economic growth among UK regions this year, alongside Northern Ireland.

The jobless picture in Scotland mirrors the situation across the UK which saw a 24,000 increase between November and January in the jobless total to 1.45 million.

But the number of people in work Uk-wide is up by 168,000 to 32.25 million. Scotland’s unemployment rate of 4.3 per cent matches the UK figure, but the employment rate of 74.8 per cent compares with 75.3 per cent

0 The number of jobless increased by 5,000 to 118,000 between November and January across the rest of the country. Andy Willox, FSB’S Scottish policy convener said: “These worrying figures show that Scotland’s headline jobs metrics are both moving in the wrong direction. Getting local economies growing to reverse this trend must be the country’s decision-makers’ top priority.

He added: “The Scottish Government could do worse than using our public sector’s enormous spending power to kick start local economies.” Scottish Government employability minister Jamie Hepburn said: “While these results do show a slight decrease in employment over the quarter, our employment rate has increased over the year and the longer term, 1.0 percentage points higher compared with last year, and showing 80,000 more people in employment compared to the pre-recession peak.

“Once more, we continue to outperform the UK on employment and unemployment rates for young people and women, 71.5 per cent of women and 58.8 per cent of young people are in employment in Scotland compared to 70.9 per cent of women and 54.5 per cent of young people in the UK.” Scottish Secretary David Mundell welcomed the annual fall in unemployment.

But he added: “The most recent quarterly snapshot shows an increase of people in Scotland out of work and I urge the Scottish Government to use its considerable powers to strengthen the economy and help create the right conditions for sustained long term employment.”