Employment in Scotland rose by 51,000 to 2,629,000 in the last quarter — the largest quarterly rise on record — according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The number of people out of work in Scotland in the April to June quarter was at its lowest since 2009.

Scotland’s unemployment fell by 26,000 to 143,000 and now stands at 5.2%, slightly above the UK level of 4.9%.

The Scottish Government said the job numbers illustrated the underlying resilience of the economy.

Holyrood said the Labour market statistics for April to June showed Scotland has the second highest employment rate out of the four UK nations.

The Scottish Government said Scotland continues to outperform the rest of the UK on female employment and unemployment rates and outperforms the rest of the UK on youth employment and unemployment rates.

Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Employability and Training said: “There is much to be welcomed from these figures, including 65,000 more people being employed now than at the pre-recession high.

“However, we know that there is more that we can and must do.

“The Scottish economy has strong fundamentals, but as businesses face uncertainty during negotiations over our future relationship with the EU, we will ensure we work hard to protect Scotland’s relationship with the EU, and strive to make the most of current and future opportunities in our economy.

“The additional £100 million stimulus package announced by the First Minister is designed to help and support new and existing jobs and alleviate business concerns at this difficult time.”

Scotland’s employment rate increased over the quarter to 74.1%, just below the UK average of 74.5 %.