Labour Market

Scotland's labour market is showing signs of increasing pressure, with new official figures revealing a fall in the employment rate alongside rises in both unemployment and economic inactivity. According to data for June to August 2025, Scotland's employment rate for people aged 16-64 fell by 0.6 pe

Scotland's unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in the three months to March 2025, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from the previous quarter, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

Scotland's labour market has demonstrated continued strength despite the challenging economic climate, according to the latest figures. For the period of October to December 2024, the employment rate reached 74.2%, a 0.9% increase over the quarter, although still slightly below the UK average of 74.

Scotland's labour market experienced mixed results in the second quarter of 2024, with unemployment up, despite strong earnings growth. Median monthly pay reached £2,413 in June, a 5.2% year-on-year increase, exceeding UK growth and outpacing inflation.

Scotland's labour market experienced mixed results in the period from February to April 2024, with an increase in unemployment to 4.7%, a decrease in employment to 73.1%, and a rise in inactivity to 23.2%. Ann Frances Cooney, employment partner at DWF, has commented: "The cooling of the labour marke