Youth Employment Up with Inactivity at Record Low

With new statistics released today show that Scotland is again ahead of the UK on employment, with record low rates of inactivity in the workplace.  
 
Labour Market figures, produced by the Office of National Statistics show overall employment rates for Scotland up to 74.5% over the quarter from November 2015 to January 2016 – with 2,631,000 Scots now in employment.
 
Encouraging figures on youth employment show an increase of 15,000 over the past year, giving Scotland its highest November to January youth employment rate since 2009.
 
The number of people out of work or not actively seeking work in Scotland fell by 21,000 over the quarter to 701,000 – which at 20.5% us the joint lowest rate of inactivity on record.
 
Commenting on the figures, SNP MSP Mark McDonald said:
 
“These are welcome figures showing Scotland leading the UK on employment – and with numbers of people out of work or not actively seeking work at their lowest level.
 
“We continue to work hard on youth employment – with 15,000 more young people in work over the past year and a determination to do even more on this ambition if elected to serve a third term as Scotland’s government in May.
 
“The UK government remains unwavering on its course of further austerity as we’ve heard from the Tory Chancellor today. Their ideological agenda risks undermining the hard work of the SNP government in creating jobs and taking positive steps to make work fair.”

In Wales however:

Commenting on the latest unemployment figures, Plaid Cymru Shadow Economy Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth said:

“The drop in unemployment is welcome, but it’s not just about the number but the quality of jobs in Wales. The average wage in Wales is around £100 per week lower than the UK average, and this is indicative of deep-rooted problems in our economy. Plaid Cymru wants to tackle this problem head-on. We will bring forward major investment in transport, energy and green infrastructure and establish a new WDA charged with selling Wales to the world, and attracting investment here from across the world. And we will spend public money more wisely, awarding more contracts to Welsh firms in order to support our own economy and create jobs here in Wales.”