The Scottish Labour Market 2002

Round Up: This report presents an analysis of the Scottish labour market, covering historical trends, the present situation and likely future issues.

The main focus of the report is on Scotland and how it compares to the United Kingdom (UK) as a whole.  Comparisons with other countries and the regions of Scotland are also presented.

The report views employment, skills, earnings and changes as well as training in the workplace, highlighting a number of key points for the Scottish labour market.

Scotland is currently enjoying the highest level of employment in 40 years, with 8.7% of UK employment based in Scotland.  The total working age population (that is, those between school leaving and retirement age) was nearly 3.2 million in 2000, though with Scotland's overall population set to fall below 5 million by 2025 and our population growth rate amongst the lowest in Europe this figure will probably fall.

Despite lagging in the 1990's Scotland's employment growth rate is now close to the international average; one of the main contributory reasons for this improved growth is Scotland's central belt.  Of those in work around a quarter are in part-time employment one of the highest rates in Europe however, only around one-in-ten taking the part-time route through a lack of full-time opportunities.

Scotland's average annual salary is £19,700, which is 8% lower than the UK average of £21,300.  Non-manual workers earn 50% more than their manual-working counterparts.  On average UK residents have held an average of 4.8 jobs, a figure which is broadly similar to that of 1990.

In education, Scotland's pupils perform extremely well, with 95% of pupils leaving school with a qualification, while Scotland's SVQ/NVQ (Scottish Vocational Qualification/National Vocational Qualification) attainment levels are higher than the UK-average.

More details about the Scottish Labour Market 2002 can be found in the Summary Report and the Full Report below. For further information about Futureskills Scotland, please Contact Us.

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