Secretary of State for Scotland, Des Browne welcomed the ONS findings.  Commenting on the statistics, he said: “This is an exceptional set of results reflecting the strong performance of the Scottish labour market, which has been made possible by the UK Government’s macroeconomic policies.” 

The total number of people in employment in Scotland in March untill May 2007 was 2,540,000, an increase of 78,000 in the period from the previous year.  This equates to a 1.5 per cent  increase in the employment rate over the year, which is above the UK average and almost all the rates in countries in the European Union.  These figures were obtained from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) carried out by the ONS every three months. 

International Labour Organisation (ILO) unemployment measure, derived from the LFS, shows that the number of people unemployed stands at 127,000, down by 19,000 from the previous quarter of March 2006 - May 2006.  The ILO measure saw the unemployment rate fall by 0.8 per cent to 4.8 per cent over the year. 

The data released also indicates that economic activity has increased.  This measure includes those who are in employment and those who are unemployed but able to enter work.  The number of people who were economically active during the quarter March – May 2007 was 2,667,000, 60,000 higher than at the same time in the previous year.  This is equivalent to a 0.9 per cent increase in the economic activity rate over the year. 

Browne said he believes that Government policies have played a major part in affecting the figures. He said:  “With record numbers of people in Scotland in work, and with the unemployment rate never having been lower, these figures are a ringing endorsement of the social welfare policies delivered by this Government. Through these policies - including the New Deal, Working Tax Credits, and the National Minimum Wage - we are committed to, and are clearly achieving, our aims of spreading prosperity for all.” 

Full details of the Labour Market statistics can be obtained here.