Unemployment in Scotland rose during the first full month of lockdown while the number of vacancies plummeted to a record low, official figures have revealed.
The jobless rate north of the Border in the three months up to April was 4.6 per cent - up 1.1 per cent on the previous quarter - and above the UK rate of 3.9 per cent.The percentage of those aged 16-64 in employment in Scotland now stands at 74.3 per cent - below the UK rate of 76.4 per cent.The figures do not include those currently being paid by the UK Government's furlough scheme.There were 476,000 vacancies in the UK in March to May 2020 – 342,000 fewer than in the three months to February 2020, the largest quarterly decrease on record.