The latest employment figures show that Scotland is doing well as part of the UK, Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said today.
Unemployment in Scotland fell by 7,000, to 196,000 in the period August to October 2013, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released today.
The Scottish unemployment rate is 7.1 per cent, which is below the average of 7.4 per cent for the whole of the UK.
The labour market statistics also show employment in Scotland has increased by 11,000 over the three months August to October 2013. The number of those in employment in Scotland now stands at 2,546,000.
Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said: “Every new job created in Scotland represents someone getting back into work and is to be welcomed. Today’s figures reinforce how well Scotland is doing as part of the UK and they are good news for people and families across the country. There are 83,000 more people in employment in Scotland than there were a year ago.
“Unemployment has fallen and employment increased over the three months to October. We have also seen a further significant fall of 2,900 in people claiming Jobseekers Allowance in November. As a result there are 23,300 fewer Scots claiming JSA compared to one year ago.
“This comes on the back of recent positive news and the continuing recovery of our economy. We will keep up all our efforts to create the right conditions for the private sector to create sustainable, long-term jobs.”
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Carmichael in his recent STV head-to-head with Nicola Sturgeon was challenged on what the UK Government were actually doing to help employment and to help hard pressed families. He couldn’t answer. In fact he was asked 4 questions that he couldn’t answer. Video is on YouTube. Nicola Sturgeon was able to tell us what the Scottish Government were doing. Video is available on YouTube. These statistics are despite the UK Government not because of it.