Scottish unemployment total rises by 18,000 Published duration 14 October 2015

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Scotland's jobless total increased by 18,000 between June and August to stand at 170,000, according to official figures.

The rise contrasted with a fall of 79,000 in UK unemployment, to 1.7 million, over the same period.

The Scottish jobless rate stands at 6.1%, compared with 5.4% for the whole of the UK.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data also showed employment in Scotland falling by 6,000 to 2,610,000.

The number of people claiming Job Seeker's Allowance increased by 500 between August and September, to stand at 71,000.

Analysis by Douglas Fraser, Scotland business and economy editor

The divergent paths of the Scottish and UK jobs market are mirrored by other indicators we've had in recent days, such as the latest manufacturing export figures and the findings of a respected survey of Scottish purchasing managers.

The UK government's Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: "The figures released today show the challenges which remain to ensure households in every part of our country benefit from a growing economy.

"There can be no doubt there is still hard work to undertake to build on the UK government's long-term economic plan which has tackled a record deficit and laid the foundations for a stronger and more stable economy."

The Scottish government said Scotland outperformed the UK as a whole on employment, youth employment and female employment.

Scottish Deputy First Minister John Swinney said that with the increase in the unemployment rate, it was important to sustain public sector investment to strengthen business confidence and deliver economic recovery.

He added: "While Scotland has now seen three years of continuous economic growth, and continues to exceed the UK in the total employment rate and in youth and female employment rates, today's figures show that there remain serious challenges to economic recovery."

'Grim reading'

Labour public services spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: "These figures make grim reading for Scotland, and speak to an SNP government with the wrong priorities.

"The increase in unemployment in the north east confirms that the SNP government sat on their hands whilst we saw an oil jobs crisis that saw thousands of jobs lost."

She added: "We are seeing fewer jobs under this SNP government than in 2008, and the gap is growing."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "The SNP cannot run away from the fact that unemployment in the rest of the UK is at a seven-year low while more people in Scotland are out of work.

"While the SNP were busy plotting a second referendum, declaring war on the BBC and doing everything they can to distract from their record in government, 18,000 more Scots found themselves out of work."

Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) general secretary Grahame Smith described the latest figures as "particularly worrying".

He added: "Unemployment is now back on a clear upward trend and working age employment is lower than it was a year ago.

"Whilst it is difficult to be precise about why Scotland's labour market performance is increasingly weak relative to the rest of the UK, it is highly likely that job losses in the oil and gas sector are now having a tangible impact on the aggregate statistics."