Scottish Secretary responds to May Labour Market Statistics

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said:

It is good news that even more Scots are back in paid employment, while unemployment has fallen further.

The economic aftershocks of covid and the war in Ukraine mean real pressures in the cost of living right around the world. The way to tackle this in the longer term is to grow our economy and create high-skilled, high-paid jobs, and we are helping by also providing a £22 billion support package, including boosting the wages of the lowest paid and helping people with energy costs.

Throughout these challenging times, the UK Government stands ready to do what is needed to support people right across the UK.

Background

Figures from the ONS show Scotland’s unemployment rate has decreased by 1.2 p.p. over the past year to 3.2 per cent. The employment rate robustly increased by 1.4 p.p. between January and March 2022.