Scottish jobless numbers fall as UK figure is worst for a decade

Published on Wednesday 17 September 2008 20:40

SCOTLAND'S labour market is continuing to buck the UK trend, with unemployment falling by 4,000 – the third successive quarter it has fallen – while unemployment has risen throughout the rest of the UK.

However, there were signs that Scotland is also starting to feel the full effect of the economic slowdown, with a fall in the employment rate and a rise in the number claiming unemployment benefits.

Official statistics show unemployment (under the International Labour Organisation figures) fell by 4,000 over the quarter and by 18,000 over the year to 112,000.

The Scottish unemployment rate also fell by 0.1 percentage points over the quarter, to 4.2 per cent, below the UK average of 5.5 per cent. But the employment rate also fell, while the claimant count figure (the number of those out of work and claiming benefits) rose.

These conflicting statistics suggest that, although the Scottish economy is proving resilient to the worldwide economic downturn, it is starting to suffer.

Scotland's position must be measured against considerably worse figures for the UK. Yesterday's statistics showed UK unemployment at its highest level for almost a decade.

Some 1.72 million people were out of work in the three months to July, up 81,000 from the previous quarter and the highest total since spring 1999.

The number claiming jobseeker's allowance in the UK also rose for the seventh month in a row in August, by 32,500 to 904,900 – the biggest monthly rise since December 1992.

The Office for National Statistics said the trend on the claimant count and the wider number of jobless was rising.

The UK's employment level also saw its first fall for more than a year, down by 16,000 to 29.54 million in the three months to July.

The Scottish Secretary, Des Browne, called the Scottish figures "encouraging". He said: "At a time when economies around the world face challenging conditions, we can take heart from a fall in quarterly and annual unemployment, reflecting the underlying strength of the Scottish economy."

Jim Mather, the SNP's enterprise minister, said the Scottish economy continued to show "resilience" in the face of global economic uncertainty.

He added: "Our employment rate is 1.6 per cent above the UK average at 76.3 per cent."