Unemployment total drops by 14,000

Jan 23 2013

Scotland has seen another big fall in unemployment, with the latest figures showing the jobless total fell by 14,000.

Official statistics revealed the number of people classed as unemployed - which includes those out of work and not eligible for benefits - dropped to 207,000 in the three months from September to November last year.

It comes after last month's figures showed Scotland had seen the biggest fall in unemployment for more than four years when joblessness fell by 19,000.

There are now 23,000 fewer people out of work than there were in the period September to November 2011.

The figures also revealed the number of people out of work and claiming jobseeker's allowance fell by 1,400 from November to a new total of 137,500 in December - 4,400 less than the last month of 2011.

But the number of people in employment has also fallen, decreasing by 24,000 to stand at 2,466,000 in September to November. While this was down on the previous three months, the employment total is 1,000 higher than the same period in 2011. Scotland's unemployment rate is now slightly higher than that for the UK as a whole at 7.8%, compared to 7.7%.

The figures also revealed that youth unemployment has dropped to 82,000 in the period September to November last year, with 23,000 fewer 16 to 24-year-olds out of work than there had been 12 months previously. The youth unemployment rate now stands at 19.9%, down 4.8% over the year, meaning Scotland has seen the largest annual decrease in this rate since 2006.

The fall in unemployment was welcomed by both the Scottish and UK governments. Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said: "It is encouraging to see unemployment falling by 14,000 in Scotland over the last three months and 4,400 fewer people claiming jobseeker's allowance compared to last year."

But he stressed: "There is no room for complacency as we get to grips with the wider challenges."

Meanwhile, Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney said the figures showed "unemployment in Scotland has continued to fall for the second monthly release". He added: "The strong performance in youth unemployment over the year is particularly welcome. We have lower youth unemployment, higher youth employment and lower youth inactivity than the UK."