The Scottish Conservatives have hit out at the Scottish Government’s use of “misleading” statistics on an official Twitter feed.
MSP Donald Cameron has written to Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans over a tweet last week that claimed the youth unemployment rate in Scotland had fallen 0.3 per cent this year.
The Tories argued this does not represent the true state of employment in Scotland.
READ MORE: Scotland's employment falls faster and its unemployment rises faster than any other part of UK
The Scottish Government was also criticised by the UK Statistics Authority last week, which said that figures used to support the claims were “unreliable”.
The statistics, which featured in the Scottish Government’s Scotland’s Labour Market release, were taken from a small sample survey in the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
But figures in the Annual Population Survey (APS), which the UK Statistics Authority says are more reliable, show youth unemployment in Scotland actually rose by 0.8 per cent.
Mr Cameron said: “It is entirely typical of this SNP Government – first that misleading figures should be used and second that they refuse to apologise or rectify the situation.
“Nicola Sturgeon’s ministers have been found out by the UK Statistics Authority.
“The Permanent Secretary needs to act to stop the SNP using its position in government to mislead the public.”
The row centres on a claim by Finance Secretary Derek Mackay’s officials of a 0.3 per cent drop in the 16-24 jobless rate.
The figure was pulled from uncertified data that carried a warning for it not be used as it came from a small sample.
A statement from the UK Statistics Authority said: “Data from the LFS at this level of detail are not considered reliable and are not classed as national statistics.
“The APS is the more reliable data source for estimates of youth unemployment, due to its larger sample size, particularly when considering a breakdown by age and country within the UK.
“It would be helpful to make this clear both in the summary published by the Scottish Government and any related use of the estimates, including on social media.”
READ MORE: Unemployment in Scotland below UK average
In his letter to the Permanent Secretary, Mr Cameron called for a correction to the statistics.
He added: “In my view, this is the sort of partisan spin that I would expect from the official SNP account, not an official Scottish Government account.
“It is extremely important, especially during a General Election campaign, that the Scottish Government and its civil servants remain impartial and publish information that is accurate and well-founded.”
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