Scottish women bearing brunt as the dole queues lengthen

WOMEN are being hardest hit by the unemployment crisis in Scotland, according to new research.

It comes amid a warning that unemployment will increase to 2.85 million UK-wide in 2012, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

New figures released by Labour today showed that 15 times more women than men joined the dole queue in 2011.

Although more men than women are unemployed in Scotland, the claimant count increased among men by just under 2,000 to 96,000 between November 2010 and 2011, a rise of 1 per cent. However, female unemployment jumped by 15.8 per cent, from 36,300 to 42,100 in the period.

Labour finance spokesman Ken Macintosh MSP said: “Many employers are laying staff off and often the first to go are part-timers, who are predominantly women.

“Many low and middle-income families are having their monthly pay cheque halved.”