Ann Frances Cooney, employment law partner at DWF leading the Scottish employment law practice, comments on today’s Labour Market Trends. She said:

“The latest labour market figures for Scotland show a continued recovery of the market.

“As far as the impact of Covid is concerned, as we adapt to the next phase of living safely with Covid we would expect the labour market to remain stable in the short to medium term. However, the war in Ukraine and subsequent potential increases in costs of material may yet have an impact on the labour market and there could be more challenging times ahead.
“For now, many employers are taking the opportunity to consider the next step out of the pandemic carefully as restrictions are eased and there is a move to personal responsibility. A recent survey from the Chartered Management Institute found that 84% of firms had adopted hybrid working. With retention and recruitment difficulties continuing, employers are having to think of new and innovative ways to attract the best talent, as well as the more traditional route of increased pay.”

The headline figures for the period between November 2021 and January 2022 show an estimated employment rate of 74.5%, down 0.1% over the quarter. By way of comparison Scotland’s employment rate was below the UK rate of 75.6%. Scotland’s estimated unemployment rate was 3.8%, down 0.3% over the quarter. Scotland’s unemployment rate was slightly below the UK rate of 3.9%. The figures represent a relatively challenging period in the journey of the pandemic with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme closed and the Omicron variant leading to tighter restrictions. The labour market has yet again demonstrated its resilience.