Unemployment rate drops to 4.2% in Scotland

Unemployment in Scotland has fallen slightly in the last quarter, according to the latest figures.

Data from the Official for National Statistics showed that the unemployment rate north of the border for those aged 16 and over was 4.2% between May and July this year.

This was 0.5% down on the previous quarter but above the UK-wide unemployment rate of 4.1%.

The figures showed that 118,000 people in Scotland were out of work between May and July, down from 121,000 over the previous three-month period.

The employment rate for those aged 16 to 64 was 74.2%, up 1.2% on the previous quarter.

This was below the UK-wide rate of 74.8%.

In Scotland there were 2,548,000 people in that age group in employment, up from 2,520,000 in the previous three months.

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