STUC on labour Market Statistics

November 13th 2013

STUC on labour Market Statistics

November 13th 2013

Commenting on publication of the latest labour market statistics for Scotland, Grahame Smith, Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) General Secretary said:

“Although there have been some minor fluctuations in the rate through 2013, unemployment in Scotland is stagnating at a high level. Along with the unprecedented continuing decline in real wages this fact should cause politicians at all levels to pause for reflection before commenting on the state of the labour market.

“Scotland has outperformed the rest of the UK on employment growth over the last year. But it’s crucial that no one gets carried away with this single measure. The Scottish employment rate remains a full 4% below its pre-recession peak; over 100,000 new jobs are required to achieve pre-recession levels of employment.

“Of course today’s ONS release contains no new information about the nature of the new jobs being created. The STUC’s labour market intelligence indicates that far too many are low wage and insecure”.

ENDS

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