Scotland’s unemployment rate fell to a record low of 3.1% between May and July, according to the latest report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The UK unemployment rate was 3.6% over the same period — its lowest level since 1974.
“The estimated unemployment rate (16+) in Scotland was 3.1 per cent, down 0.7 percentage points since December 2019-February 2020 (pre-pandemic) and down 0.2 percentage points over the quarter …” said the latest report.
“The estimated employment rate (the proportion of people aged 16-64 in work) in Scotland was 75.2 per cent, down 0.1 percentage points since December 2019-February 2020 (pre-pandemic) and down 0.3 percentage points over the quarter.
“Scotland’s employment rate was below the UK rate of 75.4 per cent …
“The estimated economic inactivity rate (the proportion of people aged 16 to 64 years who were not working and not seeking or available to work) in Scotland was 22.4 per cent, up 0.7 percentage points since December 2019- February 2020 (pre-pandemic) and up 0.5 percentage points over the quarter.
“Scotland’s economic inactivity rate was above the UK rate of 21.7 per cent …
“Early seasonally adjusted estimates for August 2022 from HMRC Pay As You Earn Real Time Information indicate that there were 2.43 million payrolled employees in Scotland, an increase of 1.8 per cent (44,000) compared with February 2020 (pre-pandemic).
“This compares with the UK where the number of payrolled employees has increased by 2.5 per cent over the same period …
“Early seasonally adjusted estimates for August 2022 from HMRC Pay As You Earn Real Time Information indicate that median monthly pay for payrolled employees in Scotland was £2,116, an increase of 12.8 per cent compared with February 2020 (pre-pandemic).
“This is lower than the growth in median monthly pay for the UK over the same period (13.7 per cent).”