decEMber 2009
Scottish unemployment figures fall
The Scottish unemployment rate has fallen to 6.9%, according to new figures released by the Scottish Government. This compares to a UK unemployment rate of 7.9%.
The figures show the first fall in unemployment in Scotland since July 2008, with 2,000 fewer people unemployed in the three month period to October. As a whole, Scotland's employment rate increased by 0.5 percentage points to 74.2%, with 15,000 more people in work.
At the UK level, unemployment increased by 21,000 over the same period, while the UK employment rate remained unchanged at 72.5%.
Enterprise Minister Jim Mather welcomed the figures as a further indication of fragile recovery.
"There is also a rise in employment and a fall in economic inactivity as the labour market in Scotland continues to outperform the rest of the UK. In fact, the growth in working age employment in Scotland accounts for 50% of total working age employment growth across the UK," he said.
"But economic prospects for 2010 remain uncertain and there is absolutely no scope for even the slightest complacency," he warned.