THE Scottish unemployment rate has dipped back below that of the UK as a whole after the jobless total fell by 19,000 between August and October.
The number of Scots out of work was 204,000, according to the latest Office for National Statistics figures.
The Scottish jobless rate was 7.6%, below the average of 7.8% for the whole UK workforce – the first time since May that Scotland's headline jobless rate has been below the UK's.
The claimant count in Scotland – those out of work and in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance – fell by 1100 to 139,500 last month.
However, the good news was tempered by figures showing the number of Scots in work also fell. The total was down by 27,000 to 2.463 million. It was the biggest fall in employment recorded anywhere in the UK, which as a whole saw a net increase in the number of people in work.
The latest figures mean unemployment is down 25,000 compared with the same period last year. The number in work fell 7000 over the year.
The fall in unemployment in Scotland was mirrored across the UK, with the total dropping 82,000 to 2.51 million. It was the biggest quarterly fall in unemployment since 2001.
Finance Secretary John Swinney said: "These figures mean the headline jobless rate is now at its lowest in almost three years, but more still needs to be done."
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