SCOTLAND has seen employment fall faster and unemployment rise faster than anywhere else in the UK, official figures out today show.

Alistair Jack, the Scottish Secretary, said the statistics were “concerning” and called on the Scottish Government to work with the UK Government to boost Scotland’s economy post-Brexit.

Numbers from the Office for National Statistics[ONS] show the number of people in employment in Scotland this year fell by 1.4 per cent in the three months to August, compared to the previous quarter.

This means 2.63 million people across Scotland were in employment between June and August, a drop of 39,000 from the three months before.

The drop was the highest of any nation or region of the UK, just ahead of Wales, which saw a 1.1 per cent reduction.

Some areas, such as south-east England and Yorkshire, saw their jobs figures increase.

During the same period, the rise in unemployment in Scotland also outpaced other areas of the UK, going up by 0.8 per cent.

The statistics suggest 112,000 people were unemployed during the period; 20,000 more than between March and May.

The shift in job numbers now sees Scotland fall well below the UK average, with 74.3 per cent in work, compared to 75.9 per cent across the rest of the country.

Jamie Hepburn, the Scottish Business Minister, claimed that uncertainty about the UK's exit from the European Union was the main driver behind the drop in employment.

“Brexit is having an increasingly negative impact on Scotland's economy and labour market and that is demonstrated by these figures,” he declared.

"There are some things the Scottish Government cannot mitigate but within the limit of our powers we are working as hard as possible to prevent damage to Scotland's jobs, businesses and economy being inflicted by a UK Government-led Brexit.

"We will continue working to create the right economic conditions for employment, such as our 'Prepare for Brexit' campaign - helping build economic resilience through grants which support businesses to have response plans in place," added Mr Hepburn.

Employment dropped by 0.2 per cent across the UK while the number of those not in work went up by 0.1 per cent.

The drop in the number of people in work is the sharpest dip since 2015.

Mr Jack said: "It is concerning to see unemployment increase in Scotland at a sharper rate than anywhere else in the UK.

"Yesterday, the UK Government set out a bold and ambitious domestic agenda with the Queen's Speech, that will result in more jobs in Scotland through the fisheries bill, more security in retirement and more money to the Scottish Government through the Barnett formula.

"I urge the Scottish Government to work with us to boost the Scottish economy and create jobs, making sure we are ready to enjoy a prosperous future once we leave the EU on October 31," he added.

The ONS figures also showed that UK employment suffered its sharpest decline in more than four years in the three months to August.

The number of people in work declined by 56,000 to 32.69m in the quarter as the number of people claiming unemployment benefits jumped higher.

The slump was significantly below forecasts by economists, who had predicted a 26,000 rise in employment.

The quarterly decline in employment was the heaviest fall since May 2015, when the level of employment slid by 65,000.

Unemployment also increased in August, rising from a 45-year low reported in July.

The level of UK unemployment increased by 22,000 to 1.31m for the quarter as the proportion of people out of work also increased.

Analysts had previously predicted that the rate of unemployment would stay flat at 3.8 per cent but the figures revealed an increase to 3.9 for the period.

Meanwhile, the jobs market weakened, as it slid to the eighth consecutive month of falling vacancies.

The number of vacancies fell by 11,000 to 813,000, the lowest level of vacancies since November 2017.

However, the fall represents a slowdown after vacancies had slid by 23,000 in the previous month.

The decline in employment was linked to the falling number of people under 25 in work while all other age groups saw an increase in employment.

Meanwhile, the number of people deemed economically inactive across the UK increased by 57,000 to 8.68m for the quarter.

Earnings continued to grow ahead of inflation but the rate of wage growth slowed to 3.8 per cent from 4.0 last month. Analysts had predicted that wage growth would stay at four per cent.

Matt Hughes, deputy head of labour market statistics at the ONS, said: "The employment rate is rising year on year but this growth has cooled noticeably in recent months. Among the under-25s, the employment rate has actually started to fall on the year.

"Pay growth continues to outstrip inflation as it has done for over 18 months now."

Mims Davies, the UK Employment Minister, said: "As the UK prepares to leave the EU at the end of this month, these latest figures are a welcome example of the underlying strength of our economy and world-leading workforce.

"Opportunities for young people and women continue to grow, with youth unemployment almost halved since 2010 alongside over 200,000 more women in work in the last year," she added.