From the archive: Scotland to suffer years of jobless misery - 15 July, 2010

THE rate of unemployment in Scotland has now surpassed the UK average and is set to remain that way for an “extended period”, as a result of a major squeeze in public-sector spending, experts have said.

Official figures, published yesterday, revealed that the Scottish jobless total soared to 8.1 per cent, compared with a UK-wide figure of 7.8 per cent. It is the first time in four years that joblessness north of the Border has exceeded the UK average. The labour-market statistics showed there are now 216,000 unemployed people in Scotland, up by 8,000 during the period from March to May this year.

Unemployment figures, including those who are out of work but not eligible for benefits, across the UK fell by 34,000 to 2.47 million during the same period.

In recent years, Scotland has been cushioned by a large public sector, which is always slower at shedding staff during hard times.