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Publication - Statistics

Labour Market Trends: August 2026

Published
18 August 2026
Directorate
Chief Economist Directorate
Topic
Business, industry and innovation, Economy, Work and skills

Trends in Labour Market indicators from HMRC PAYE RTI, Claimant count, and ONS Labour Force Survey data covering Scotland and the UK.

Part of

Supporting documents

Unemployment estimates

The unemployment rate for people aged 16 years and over in Scotland was estimated at 5.1% in April to June 2026. This is 1.4 percentage points up compared to a year ago and 0.6 percentage points up over the quarter.

The estimates show there was a statistically significant change over the year in the headline unemployment rate for Scotland. Given concerns around the volatility in the estimates and greater imputation as a result of the known operational issue, it is not possible to determine if this reflects a genuine change in the unemployment rate and therefore should be interpreted with caution.

The UK unemployment rate was estimated at 4.9% in April to June 2026. This is 0.2 percentage points up compared to a year ago but 0.1 percentage points down over the quarter.

Chart 8: The unemployment rate for Scotland was higher than the UK

Unemployment rates for persons aged 16 and over, Scotland and the UK, January to March 2019 to April to June 2026

Time series line chart showing estimated unemployment rates for Scotland and the United Kingdom as separate lines.

Source: Labour Force Survey, seasonally adjusted, ONS

Note: Due to an operational issue, the March to May 2026 and April to June 2026 estimates are subject to greater imputation. Please see ONS Labour Force Survey notes in the About this publication section for more information.

Chart 9: Scotland had the highest unemployment rate across the countries of the UK

Unemployment Rate and annual change for persons aged 16 and over, UK countries, April to June 2026 compared to April to June 2025.

Horizontal bar chart showing the unemployment rate of UK countries. The bars, in order of decreasing unemployment rate, are Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Source: Labour Force Survey, ONS

Notes:

  1. Annual change shown in percentage points
  2. Due to an operational issue, the March to May 2026 and April to June 2026 estimates are subject to greater imputation. Please see ONS Labour Force Survey notes in the About this publication section for more information.

Contact

For enquiries about this publication please contact:

Labour Market Statistics,
Office of the Chief Economic Adviser
E-mail: LMStats@gov.scot

For general enquiries about Scottish Government statistics please contact:

Office of the Chief Statistician
E-mail: statistics.enquiries@gov.scot

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