Number of Scots in work hits record high

Scotland had 2.56 million in work last year. Picture: TSPL

A rise in the number of working women over the last two years has been a driver in the figures for 2014 which also showed the lowest number of 16-19-year-olds who have left school and can’t find work or get a college place.

The figures emerged in the Local Area Labour Markets in Scotland publication and were welcomed by Roseanna Cunningham, the Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training.

“This is a remarkable set of figures that demonstrates that the work the Scottish Government is doing to improve employability and get more people into work is making a real difference to the lives of Scots around the country,” she said.

Ms Cunningham said they reflect the monthly employment which have also shown improvements in youth and women’s employment.

“A decrease in underemployment also shows that people are not just finding jobs, they are finding the jobs that work for them, which is incredibly important too,” Ms Cunningham added.

The figures reveal there were 21,000 16 to 19 year olds not in education, employment or training in 2014, the lowest number since comparable records began in 2004

The workforce is also more qualified workforce than ever before with almost half (47.1%) of workers with Higher Education qualifications. The number of workers with no qualifications also decreased by 5,000 to 139,500, the lowest seen since comparable records began in 2004.

The number of workers underemployed – workers who wanted to work more hours than they are currently employed to do – decreased by 20,200 over the year to 216,500.