Unemployment increases by 11,000 in Scotland
Unemployment in Scotland has risen by 11,000 despite a drop in the UK's overall jobless total.
Official statistics show that for the period July to September there were 166,000 people out of work, including those not eligible for benefits, up 11,000 on the previous quarter and 2,000 more than the same period last year.
It is the second month in a row that Scotland has seen its jobless total rise while unemployment across the UK has been reducing.
Scotland continues to have a higher unemployment rate than the UK, at 6% north of the border compared to 5.3%, the figures from the Office for National Statistics also show.
Despite the rise in unemployment, the number of Scots in work increased by 3,000 over the last quarter to a new total of 2,614,000 - up by 9,000 on the previous year.
The employment rate, which is unchanged at 74.1%, continues to be above the 73.7% recorded across the UK as a whole.
While unemployment increased there was a fall in the number of Scots who are out of work and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance, with this dropping by 1,700 from September to stand at 68,800 in October.
That means the number of Scots claiming Jobseeker's Allowance has fallen by 20,200 over the year.
Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: "The labour market performance in Scotland is mixed with the number of people in employment at historically high levels but unemployment starting to move upwards.
"We will monitor the gap with the UK unemployment rate while continuing to pursue our policies for a low tax and higher wage economy that will benefit Scottish workers.''
The Scottish Government highlighted the 34,000 increase in 16 to 24-year-olds in work over the last year.
Roseanna Cunningham, the Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training, said: "I am pleased to note the increases in the employment level. Although more work is required to ensure more young people find employment, it is good to know that 34,000 more people aged between 16 and 24 have found work since last year and that Scotland continues to perform better than the UK as a whole on this crucial indicator.
"Challenges do exist. For example, there has been a small 0.1 percentage point year-on-year rise in the unemployment rate to 6%.
"In addition, recent economic growth has been driven, in part, by continued infrastructure investment by the Scottish public sector. This investment is threatened by the cuts the UK Government plans to implement to achieve its fiscal mandate. We also have concerns about the impact of UK cuts on wider business and investor confidence.
"The Scottish Government has put forward an alternative option for a UK-wide fiscal mandate, which would ensure the UK's debt and deficit are put on a downward path while allowing up to an additional cumulative £150 billion of investment across the UK by 2019-20 - with around £12 billion in Scotland - compared to the UK Government's current plans.
"Such investment would support continued economic growth and is in total contrast to the huge public pending reductions that have been set out by Westminster.''