15 Dec 1999
International Labour Organisation (ILO) Unemployment
Seasonally adjusted ILO unemployment in Scotland fell by 9,000 over the quarter to August-October 1999 to 168,000. The ILO unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 6.8 per cent over the same period. ILO unemployment was 25,000 lower compared with one year earlier.
Claimant Count Unemployment
Scotland's claimant count rate of unemployment, based on the seasonally adjusted number of people claiming benefit, fell by 1,000 in November to 124,900. The claimant count unemployment rate fell from 5.2 per cent to 5.1 per cent. Compared with a year earlier, claimant count unemployment was down 11,400.
Monthly claimant count figures (not seasonally adjusted) for the New Deal groups show that the number of 18-24 year olds unemployed over 6 months fell by 3,900 over the year to November 1999 to 4,300. The number of people aged 25 and over unemployed for over 2 years fell by 1,800 to 11,900 over the same period.
Employment
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) indicates that the number of people in employment rose by 15,000 in August-October 1999 compared with the previous three months. Employment was up by 20,000 compared with the same period a year ago.
Jobcentre Vacancies
The seasonally adjusted level of vacancies notified to job centres in Scotland rose by 300 between October and November 1999 to 26,300, and was 2,100 higher compared with the same period a year ago.
Commenting on the figures, Scotland Office Minister, Brian Wilson said:
"These are very encouraging figures but there is no complacency. There is a lot of positive evidence that can be drawn from these statistics about the success of Government policy in Scotland.
"Both ILO unemployment and claimant count unemployment have fallen to new historical lows. Scotland's ILO unemployment rate now stands at 6.8 per cent, the lowest rate over the period for which comparable data is available. And claimant count unemployment is now 5.1 per cent, the lowest rate since April 1976. This is very good news for Scotland.
"The Government is committed to the promotion of employment opportunities for all - the modern definition of full employment. It is therefore encouraging that employment has risen by 20,000 over the past year and that the number of vacancies has also increased. However, despite the fact that these statistics are positive on all counts, we must not become complacent and the effort to create more jobs remains a top priority."
1. The internationally comparable International Labour Organisation (ILO) measure of unemployment is the headline figure published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for UK regions/countries.
2. The ILO measure of unemployment, which is derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), is published 12 times a year for an average of the three preceding consecutive months. ONS recommend that seasonally adjusted data should be compared with the previous non-overlapping three month period: i.e. August-October data should be compared with May-July data. Quarter to quarter changes at country/regional level are particularly subject to sampling variability and should be interpreted in the context of changes over several quarters.