![[Scotland] Unemployment figures up but pay remains resilient](http://gpa.net/cdn/shop/articles/bigstock-Job-Centre-sign-London-68203501_d7c67b60-2f22-46c7-b34a-bfa30b661a96_1200x.jpg?v=1747852916)
New statistics reveal that Scotland's unemployment rate rose in the last quarter but remains below the UK average, with pay remaining resilient, Yahoo News reports.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showed the unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over was 4.3 per cent in the three months from January to March 2025, up 0.5 percentage points on the previous.
The data also showed that a total of 119,000 people aged 16 and over were reportedly out of work in Scotland in the last quarter.
The proportion of people aged 16 and over in employment rose to 74.5 per cent, up 0.4 percentage points on the previous quarter.
There were 2,662,000 people in employment between January and March, according to ONS data.
Across the UK, the unemployment rate reportedly reached a near four-year high, rising to 4.5 per cent, up from 4.4 per cent in the three months to February and the highest since June to August 2021.
In addition, the figures showed vacancies falling by 42,000 in the quarter to April and remaining below pre-pandemic levels for the second quarter in a row, at 761,000, while initial estimates showed the number of workers on payrolls dropped by 33,000 in April to 30.3 million.
Liz McKeown - ONS director of economic statistics - said, “Wage growth slowed slightly in the latest period but remains relatively strong, with public and private sectors now showing little difference.
“The broader picture continues to be of the labour market cooling, with the number of employees on payroll falling in the first quarter of the year.
“The number of job vacancies has also fallen again, with the rate of decline increasing in the last few months.”
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said, “These figures show Scotland’s labour market remains resilient despite challenging economic times.
“It is encouraging to see the number of payrolled employees in Scotland remains high and their median monthly pay is close to the highest on record and higher than the UK overall.
“With global challenges impacting the economy, our Programme for Government outlines measures to create jobs and drive growth.
“This includes launching both Invest Scotland to showcase inward investment opportunities and the First Minister’s Start-up Challenge to support innovative businesses to start and grow.”
Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said that governments at Holyrood and Westminster “need to go further to help people into work”.
He said, “Today’s figures show we are making some progress but we still have much to do.
“We are working hard to secure Britain’s future, delivering renewal by kick-starting economic growth.
“In the past week, we have secured a landmark international trade deal with India and an economic deal with the US. Both will secure jobs and create opportunities and prosperity, putting more money in people’s pockets—a key part of our plan for change.
“Our ground-breaking Employment Rights Bill has improved conditions for hundreds of thousands of workers, our increase to the national minimum wage has brought a well-deserved pay rise of around £1,400 per year for up to 220,000 Scots, and we are planning the biggest shake-up of Jobcentres in a generation to help people back to work with the targeted assistance they really need.”
He added, “The Scottish Government’s failure in this area means Scotland’s economic inactivity rate is still higher than the UK’s—which means both of Scotland’s governments need to go further to help people into work.”
Source: Yahoo News
(Quotes via original reporting)
New statistics reveal that Scotland's unemployment rate rose in the last quarter but remains below the UK average, with pay remaining resilient, Yahoo News reports.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showed the unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over was 4.3 per cent in the three months from January to March 2025, up 0.5 percentage points on the previous.
The data also showed that a total of 119,000 people aged 16 and over were reportedly out of work in Scotland in the last quarter.
The proportion of people aged 16 and over in employment rose to 74.5 per cent, up 0.4 percentage points on the previous quarter.
There were 2,662,000 people in employment between January and March, according to ONS data.
Across the UK, the unemployment rate reportedly reached a near four-year high, rising to 4.5 per cent, up from 4.4 per cent in the three months to February and the highest since June to August 2021.
In addition, the figures showed vacancies falling by 42,000 in the quarter to April and remaining below pre-pandemic levels for the second quarter in a row, at 761,000, while initial estimates showed the number of workers on payrolls dropped by 33,000 in April to 30.3 million.
Liz McKeown - ONS director of economic statistics - said, “Wage growth slowed slightly in the latest period but remains relatively strong, with public and private sectors now showing little difference.
“The broader picture continues to be of the labour market cooling, with the number of employees on payroll falling in the first quarter of the year.
“The number of job vacancies has also fallen again, with the rate of decline increasing in the last few months.”
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said, “These figures show Scotland’s labour market remains resilient despite challenging economic times.
“It is encouraging to see the number of payrolled employees in Scotland remains high and their median monthly pay is close to the highest on record and higher than the UK overall.
“With global challenges impacting the economy, our Programme for Government outlines measures to create jobs and drive growth.
“This includes launching both Invest Scotland to showcase inward investment opportunities and the First Minister’s Start-up Challenge to support innovative businesses to start and grow.”
Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said that governments at Holyrood and Westminster “need to go further to help people into work”.
He said, “Today’s figures show we are making some progress but we still have much to do.
“We are working hard to secure Britain’s future, delivering renewal by kick-starting economic growth.
“In the past week, we have secured a landmark international trade deal with India and an economic deal with the US. Both will secure jobs and create opportunities and prosperity, putting more money in people’s pockets—a key part of our plan for change.
“Our ground-breaking Employment Rights Bill has improved conditions for hundreds of thousands of workers, our increase to the national minimum wage has brought a well-deserved pay rise of around £1,400 per year for up to 220,000 Scots, and we are planning the biggest shake-up of Jobcentres in a generation to help people back to work with the targeted assistance they really need.”
He added, “The Scottish Government’s failure in this area means Scotland’s economic inactivity rate is still higher than the UK’s—which means both of Scotland’s governments need to go further to help people into work.”
Source: Yahoo News
(Quotes via original reporting)
