Labour market indicators for Scotland, including employment, unemployment, economic inactivity, workers' hours, jobs and Claimant Count, rolling three-monthly figures published monthly.

Summary publication of results from the Annual Population Survey, presenting analysis on the labour market, education and training. Results are provided for Scotland and local authority areas in Scotland.

Source agency: Scottish Government

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: Local Area Labour Markets in Scotland: Statistics from the Annual Population Survey

Supporting data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) on maternal and paternal employment, broken down by age, sex, number of dependent children, family type, skill level and employment type.

Scottish Public Sector Employment Statistics are published by the Scottish Government and includes results from the work of a cross-departmental project, led by ONS, to improve the quality and timeliness of public sector employment statistics. Standard definitions for public sector employment across departmental statistics were agreed and a single definitive set of quarterly PSE estimates were introduced. Methodology Data reproduced here is an extract of Public Sector Employment Statistics, filtered for Glasgow local authority. The full Scottish dataset can be download from here 2014-07-17T17:00:00 Licence: None

This publication will complement the main Office for National Statistics (ONS) regional labour market publication. The estimates are compiled by ONS and will be based on the rolling quarterly data from the Labour Force Survey. It will focus on the latest available youth unemployment data covering the period August - October 2011 and look at the change over the past year. A time series of data back to January - March 2008 will also be published. Source agency: Scottish Government Designation: Official Statistics not designated as National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: Youth Unemployment in Scotland

Labour market status by ethnic group, UK, published quarterly, non-seasonally adjusted. Labour Force Survey. These are official statistics in development.

As of the third quarter of 2025, there were approximately 2.6 million people employed in Scotland, a slight decrease on the previous quarter.

Claimant Count for Scotland, by constituencies of the Scottish Parliament, published monthly. These are official statistics in development.

This dataset provides Census 2022 estimates for Economic activity of full-time students aged 16 and over in Scotland.

Economic activity

Economic activity relates to whether or not a person aged 16 and over was working or looking for work in the week before census. Rather than a simple indicator of whether or not someone was currently in employment, it provides a measure of whether or not a person was an active participant in the labour market.

A person's economic activity is derived from their 'activity last week'. This is an indicator of their status or availability for employment - whether employed, unemployed, or their status if not employed and not seeking employment. Additional information included in the economic activity classification is also derived from information about the number of hours a person works and their type of employment - whether employed or self-employed.

The census concept of economic activity is compatible with the standard for economic status defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It is one of a number of definitions used internationally to produce accurate and comparable statistics on employment, unemployment and economic status.

Details of classification can be found here

Full-time students

A student is a person who is in full-time education either at school or in higher or further education.

Details of classification can be found here

The quality assurance report can be found here

A summary publication of results from the Annual Population Survey, presenting analysis on the labour market, education and training. Results are provided at Scotland and sub-Scotland levels.

Source agency: Scottish Government

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: Annual Population Survey, Scotland

United Kingdom Labour Force: sa: Scotland data was reported at 2,756.986 Person th in May 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2,766.375 Person th for Apr 2018. United Kingdom Labour Force: sa: Scotland data is updated monthly, averaging 2,602.000 Person th from Apr 1992 (Median) to May 2018, with 314 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,799.000 Person th in Dec 2015 and a record low of 2,446.000 Person th in Aug 1998. United Kingdom Labour Force: sa: Scotland data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.G013: Labour Force Survey: Labour Force: Seasonally Adjusted.

This dataset provides Census 2022 estimates for Economic activity by sex by age (in 16 categories) in Scotland.

Age

A person's age on Census Day, 20 March 2022. Infants aged under 1 year are classified as 0 years of age.

Sex

This is the sex recorded by the person completing the census. The options were "Female" and "Male". Guidance on answering the question can be found here

Economic activity

Economic activity relates to whether or not a person aged 16 and over was working or looking for work in the week before census. Rather than a simple indicator of whether or not someone was currently in employment, it provides a measure of whether or not a person was an active participant in the labour market.

A person's economic activity is derived from their 'activity last week'. This is an indicator of their status or availability for employment - whether employed, unemployed, or their status if not employed and not seeking employment. Additional information included in the economic activity classification is also derived from information about the number of hours a person works and their type of employment - whether employed or self-employed.

The census concept of economic activity is compatible with the standard for economic status defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It is one of a number of definitions used internationally to produce accurate and comparable statistics on employment, unemployment and economic status.

Details of classification can be found here

The quality assurance report can be found here

This dataset provides Census 2022 estimates for Economic activity in Scotland.

Economic activity

Economic activity relates to whether or not a person aged 16 and over was working or looking for work in the week before census. Rather than a simple indicator of whether or not someone was currently in employment, it provides a measure of whether or not a person was an active participant in the labour market.

A person's economic activity is derived from their 'activity last week'. This is an indicator of their status or availability for employment - whether employed, unemployed, or their status if not employed and not seeking employment. Additional information included in the economic activity classification is also derived from information about the number of hours a person works and their type of employment - whether employed or self-employed.

The census concept of economic activity is compatible with the standard for economic status defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It is one of a number of definitions used internationally to produce accurate and comparable statistics on employment, unemployment and economic status.

Details of classification can be found here

The quality assurance report can be found here

This dataset provides Census 2022 estimates for industry of people aged 16 and over in employment the week before the census in Scotland.

Industry

The industry in which a person works, or the industry in which they worked in their last main job.

The industry in which a person works relates to their main job and is derived from the main activity of their employer or business. This is used to assign responses to an industry code based on the UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities.

Details of classification can be found here

The quality assurance report can be found here

Graph and download economic data for Civilian Labor Force in Scotland County, MO (LAUCN291990000000006A) from 1990 to 2024 about Scotland County, MO; MO; civilian; labor force; labor; household survey; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Civilian Labor Force in Scotland County, NC (LAUCN371650000000006A) from 1990 to 2024 about Scotland County, NC; civilian; NC; labor force; labor; household survey; and USA.

This statistic illustrates the total employment in the construction industry in Scotland for 2020 and 2021, with predictions for 2022 and 2025, by type of occupation. The forecast shows an increase in many occupations. The occupations in wood trades and interior fit-out are predicted to see an increase in employment from ****** up to ******.

This dataset provides Census 2022 estimates for Economic activity of Household Reference Person by age (in 16 categories) in Scotland.

Age

A person's age on Census Day, 20 March 2022. Infants aged under 1 year are classified as 0 years of age.

Economic activity

Economic activity relates to whether or not a person aged 16 and over was working or looking for work in the week before census. Rather than a simple indicator of whether or not someone was currently in employment, it provides a measure of whether or not a person was an active participant in the labour market.

A person's economic activity is derived from their 'activity last week'. This is an indicator of their status or availability for employment - whether employed, unemployed, or their status if not employed and not seeking employment. Additional information included in the economic activity classification is also derived from information about the number of hours a person works and their type of employment - whether employed or self-employed.

The census concept of economic activity is compatible with the standard for economic status defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It is one of a number of definitions used internationally to produce accurate and comparable statistics on employment, unemployment and economic status.

Details of classification can be found here

Household reference person

The concept of a Household Reference Person (HRP) was introduced in the 2001 Census (in common with other government surveys in 2001/2) to replace the traditional concept of the 'head of the household'. HRPs provide an individual person within a household to act as a reference point for producing further derived statistics and for characterising a whole household according to characteristics of the chosen reference person.

For a person living alone, it follows that this person is the HRP.

If a household contains only one family (with or without ungrouped individuals) then the HRP is the same as the Family Reference Person (FRP).

The Family Reference Person (FRP) is identified by criteria based on the family make up:

In a lone parent family it is taken to be the lone parent.

In a couple family, the FRP is chosen from the two people in the couple on the basis of their economic activity (in the priority order: full-time job, part-time job, unemployed, retired, other). If both people have the same economic activity, the FRP is identified as the elder of the two or, if they are the same age, the first member of the couple on the form.

If there is more than one family in a household the HRP is chosen from among the FRPs using the same criteria used to choose the FRP. This means the HRP will be selected from the FRPs on the basis of their economic activity, in the priority order:

• Economically active, employed, full-time, non-student
• Economically active, employed, full-time, student
• Economically active, employed, part-time, non-student
• Economically active, employed, part-time, student
• Economically active, unemployed, non-student
• Economically active, unemployed, student
• Economically inactive, retired
• Economically inactive, other

If some or all FRPs have the same economic activity, the HRP is the eldest of the FRPs. If some or all are the same age, the HRP is the first of the FRPs from the order in which they were listed on the questionnaire.

For families in which there is generational divide between family members that cannot be determined (Other related family), there is no FRP. Members of these families are treated the same as ungrouped individuals.

If a household is made up entirely of any combination of ungrouped individuals and other related families, the HRP is chosen from among all people in the household, using the same criteria used to choose between FRPs. Students at their non term-time address cannot be the HRP.

Details of classification can be found here

The quality assurance report can be found here

United Kingdom Employment: sa: Scotland data was reported at 2,642.391 Person th in May 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2,646.496 Person th for Apr 2018. United Kingdom Employment: sa: Scotland data is updated monthly, averaging 2,455.500 Person th from Apr 1992 (Median) to May 2018, with 314 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,673.509 Person th in Jun 2017 and a record low of 2,199.000 Person th in Jan 1993. United Kingdom Employment: sa: Scotland data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.G016: Labour Force Survey: Employment: Seasonally Adjusted: Full Time.

United Kingdom Unemployment: sa: Scotland data was reported at 114.595 Person th in May 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 119.879 Person th for Apr 2018. United Kingdom Unemployment: sa: Scotland data is updated monthly, averaging 175.000 Person th from Apr 1992 (Median) to May 2018, with 314 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 268.000 Person th in Nov 1992 and a record low of 103.620 Person th in Apr 2017. United Kingdom Unemployment: sa: Scotland data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.G019: Labour Force Survey: Unemployment: Seasonally Adjusted.