UNEMPLOYMENT in Scotland has fallen for the third month in a row but there has been a rise in the number of people not in work and claiming jobseekers' allowance.
The latest figures show a drop of 14,000 to 220,000 in the number of people on the dole from February to April. There was also an improvement in the jobless figures for 16 to 24-year-olds which showed a drop from 94,000 to 86,000.
Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said reducing youth unemployment was a key focus for the UK Government.
Despite the decrease in the headline figure for people without work, it is still 14,000 higher than for the same period last year. There was also a rise of 400 people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance in May to 142,600, up 2500 from the same month last year. The Scottish figures mirror a UK trend which showed the jobless total dropping 51,000 to 2.61 million but a rise in the number claiming jobseeker's allowance which was up by 8100 to 1.6 million. The Scottish unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.2%, the same as the UK's.
Finance Secretary John Swinney said this was the 19th month in a row that Scotland's employment rate of 71.1% was higher than the UK as a whole. He again urged the UK Government to release cash to fund infrastructure projects.
Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, also urged the UK Government to increase capital investment. She said: "What Scottish business needs now is a fresh injection of confidence to take them on a path towards growth."
Labour spokesman Ken Macintosh claimed the figures painted a mixed picture. He said: "Unemployment in Scotland is still up on a year ago and these figures also show that unemployment for those aged 25 to 49, who make up the core segment of the labour market, has actually gone up."
Employment Minister Chris Grayling said any fall in unemployment was welcome but said he would remain cautious over the next few months "given the continuing economic challenges we face".
The unemployment figures coincided with statistics showing that in the first quarter of this year the number of people employed in Scotland's public sector stood at 584,000, a decrease of 27,600 from the same period last year.
l AN American-owned pharmaceuticals company is to invest £9.5 million in its Inverness plant to make it a world leader in diabetes research and blood glucose monitoring.
LifeScan Scotland has 1100 staff in Inverness. The investment will create 19 new jobs.
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