SCOTLAND is still suffering from higher unemployment compared with the rest of the UK and continues to lag behind on employment, despite pay rising, figures have shown.

The latest Office of National Statistics labour market report showed that median monthly earnings in Scotland had risen to a new high of £2,427, growing by 5.8 per over the last year compared to 5.6 per cent rise across the UK.

Numbers in payrolled employment over the last quarter meanwhile rose by 4.4 per cent or 26,000 to a record 2,639,000.

But while growth was ahead of the 4.2 per cent UK-wide figure, Scotland continues to have a smaller proportion of 16 to 64-year-olds in work at 73.4 per cent compared with 74.6 per cent for the UK as a whole.  

That difference also translated into unemployment statistics, which showed Scotland continuing to have a higher proportion at 4.4 per cent out of work than the 4.2 per cent recorded across the UK.

SNP Deputy First Minister and Economy Secretary Kate Forbes welcomed news that “payrolled employment and median monthly pay are at record highs,” but cautioned the figures showed “many households and businesses are still feeling the effects of harsh trading conditions and the global cost-of-living crisis.”

Calling the data “encouraging,” Labour Scotland Office minister Kirsty McNeill said: “There is still a lot of work to do and the UK government is going to deliver the change the country needs.

“Giving people support to join the workforce and the security they need to remain in fairly paid jobs is vital as we tackle poverty and grow the economy.

“We’re banning exploitative zero-hour contracts, we’ve taken the first steps to make the national minimum wage a real living wage, and we’re planning jobcentre reform.”