Estimates sourced from the ONS Labour Force Survey for March to May 2024 indicate that over the quarter the Scottish unemployment rate increased, the employment rate decreased and the inactivity rate increased.

The unemployment rate (16 and over) in Scotland was 4.9%, up 0.8 percentage points over the quarter and above the UK rate of 4.4%.

The employment rate — the proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in work — in Scotland was 72.9%, down 1.3 percentage points over the quarter and below the UK rate of 74.4%.

The 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 23.3%, up 0.6 percentage points over the quarter and above the UK rate of 22.1%.

Meanwhile, early seasonally adjusted estimates for June 2024 from HMRC Pay As You Earn Real Time Information indicate that there were 2.47 million payrolled employees in Scotland, a rise of 0.6% (14,000) compared with June 2023.

This compares with the UK where the number of payrolled employees rose by 0.8 per cent over the same period.