Thanks to reader BROADBIELD for this updated source.
Out of twelve ‘regions’ in the UK, only five have lower unemployment rates than Scotland and only two have significantly lower levels – the much subsidised South-East and South-West and the former has actually increased since last year. Also, Scotland has had the greatest fall in unemployment in the UK since October 2016.
From the Office for National Statistics:
Table 1: Summary of latest headline estimates for regions of the UK, seasonally adjusted, November 2016 to January 2017
| UK regions | ||||||
| Employment rate1 (%) aged 16 to 64 | Change on Aug to Oct 2016 | Unemployment rate2 (%) aged 16 and over | Change on Aug to Oct 2016 | Inactivity rate3 (%) aged 16 to 64 | Change on Aug to Oct 2016 | |
| United Kingdom | 74.6 | 0.2 | 4.7 | -0.1 | 21.6 | -0.1 |
| Great Britain | 74.7 | 0.2 | 4.7 | -0.1 | 21.5 | -0.1 |
| England | 74.9 | 0.1 | 4.7 | -0.1 | 21.3 | -0.1 |
| North East | 70.7 | -0.2 | 6.8 | 0.3 | 24.1 | 0.0 |
| North West | 73.1 | 0.6 | 4.9 | -0.5 | 23.1 | -0.2 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 72.9 | -0.4 | 5.3 | 0.0 | 22.9 | 0.5 |
| East Midlands | 75.7 | 0.4 | 4.3 | -0.4 | 20.9 | 0.0 |
| West Midlands | 72.4 | -0.4 | 5.6 | 0.3 | 23.2 | 0.2 |
| East | 76.6 | 0.0 | 4.4 | -0.3 | 19.8 | 0.2 |
| London | 73.5 | -0.2 | 5.6 | 0.2 | 22.0 | 0.0 |
| South East | 78.5 | 0.4 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 18.6 | -0.5 |
| South West | 78.2 | 0.9 | 3.6 | -0.2 | 18.8 | -0.8 |
| Wales | 73.3 | 0.4 | 4.4 | 0.1 | 23.3 | -0.4 |
| Scotland | 73.7 | 0.4 | 4.7 | -0.6 | 22.6 | 0.0 |
| Northern Ireland | 69.4 | -0.1 | 5.7 | 0.1 | 26.2 | 0.0 |
If it was an increase in unemployment, the SNP government would get the media blame so their employability initiatives must take the credit now.
