Scotland’s jobless total continues to rise

THE number of people out of work in Scotland is continuing to rise, with the jobless total increasing by 4,000 to 218,000, official figures today showed.

THE number of people out of work in Scotland is continuing to rise, with the jobless total increasing by 4,000 to 218,000, official figures today showed.

• Scotland’s jobless total now stands at 218,000

• Unemployment rate of 8.1% - 0.3% higher than UK

• UK jobless total falls to 2.5 million

• Youth unemployment up by 10,000

The Scottish unemployment rate is 8.1 per cent, which is above the average of 7.8 per cent for the whole of the UK, according to the figures for July to September this year. It follows a rise of 7,000 in the previous figures for June to August.

The jobless total across the UK fell by 49,000 to 2.5 million, the latest figures today showed.

The number of people in work in Scotland has gone down by 27,000 and now stands at 2,472,000, the statistics show.

Scotland Office Minister David Mundell said: “It is a cause for obvious concern that the latest Scottish figures show another increase in unemployment while it is falling in the rest of the UK. The fact the Scottish unemployment rate is also higher than the rest of the country shows why Scotland’s two governments need to work together for the benefit of Scotland.”

“Today’s figures are a reminder we must redouble our efforts to rebalance the economy and get people back into sustainable jobs. Each one of these statistics represents a person or a family affected by serious economic conditions across the globe and we must do all we can to help them.”

He said that the UK Government has taken “decisive steps” to stabilise the economy, insisting that the UK is a “safe haven” in maintaining market confidence.

First Minister Alex Salmond said the figures underline the need for Chancellor George Osborne to get his economic strategy right.

“As we approach the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, today’s labour market figures show it is becoming ever more critical for George Osborne to take meaningful action to bring jobs and growth to the UK economy,” he said.

“The biggest danger to the economy is the complacency of George Osborne.