Unemployment Total Up By 19,000

Scotland has seen its jobless total rise by 19,000 in the first three months of this year while unemployment across the UK has fallen.

The number of people north of the border who are not in work - including those not eligible for benefits - rose to 168,000 over the period January to March, official figures have revealed.

That is in contrast to the UK as a whole, where unemployment fell by 35,000 to 1.83 million.

The number of Scots in employment fell, dropping by 3,000 over the three months to stand at 2,622,000 - although this is still 42,000 more than the same time last year.

The jobless rate in Scotland is now at 6%, above the 5.5% rate for the UK as a whole.

But the number of Scots who are out of work and claiming jobseeker's allowance fell by 1,100 between March and April, to a total of 77,500.