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| Scotland's unemployment rate highest in UK | Scotland's unemployment rate highest in UK |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Scotland's unemployment rate is now the highest among all the UK nations, according to official figures. | Scotland's unemployment rate is now the highest among all the UK nations, according to official figures. |
| The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said unemployment in Scotland for people over 16 was 4.6%, compared with a UK rate of 3.9%. | The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said unemployment in Scotland for people over 16 was 4.6%, compared with a UK rate of 3.9%. |
| Unemployment rose by rose by 30,000 to 127,000 between February and April as lockdown hit the labour market. | |
| Ministers said the figures were a clear indication of the challenge facing Scotland as a result of the pandemic. | |
| Scotland's unemployment rate has gone up from 3.5% in February. | Scotland's unemployment rate has gone up from 3.5% in February. |
| The figures only capture the first five weeks of lockdown. | |
| Scotland's Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said the country's reliance on the tourism industry was the main reason behind the rate being the highest in the UK. | |
| "The scale of what's coming down the track will be far, far more than we've seen here and that is why the scale of the response has to equal that challenge," she told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme. | |
| Business, Fair Work and Skills Minister Jamie Hepburn said: "These are the first labour market statistics to include a full month of lockdown measures, and show clearly the scale of the challenge facing Scotland as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. | Business, Fair Work and Skills Minister Jamie Hepburn said: "These are the first labour market statistics to include a full month of lockdown measures, and show clearly the scale of the challenge facing Scotland as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. |
| "I know that many people will be feeling a deep sense of anxiety about their livelihoods. Keeping people in work while supporting those who have lost their jobs will continue to be at the heart of our thinking as we carefully reopen the economy." | "I know that many people will be feeling a deep sense of anxiety about their livelihoods. Keeping people in work while supporting those who have lost their jobs will continue to be at the heart of our thinking as we carefully reopen the economy." |