Ann Frances Cooney, an 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 continue to offer encouragement as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme draws to a close and the country returns to some normality. The headline figures show continued recovery in the labour market between May and July 2021, with the estimated unemployment rate at 4.3%, down 0.1% over the quarter. By way of comparison, Scotland’s unemployment rate was below the UK rate of 4.6%.

“The estimated employment rate in Scotland was 74.1%, up 0.2% over the quarter. The employment rate for Scotland was below the UK rate of 75.2%. The figures continue to represent a relatively robust labour market, at a time when restrictions were gradually eased.

“We are still awaiting the impact of the withdrawal of government support on the labour market; however, recent figures show that at the end of July 2021 only 1.6 million people were on furlough, the lowest level since the start of the scheme.  With reports of such low numbers utilising the support, the hope is that the wind up of the scheme at the end of September will not lead to the cliff edge many have feared.

“As we embark on a new season with fewer restrictions, we will watch with hopeful anticipation that the labour market will continue to be given the opportunity to recover, following the most challenging of times.”