Labour Market Trends: February 2026
Trends in Labour Market indicators from HMRC PAYE RTI, Claimant count, and ONS Labour Force Survey data covering Scotland and the UK.
Part of
Employment estimates
The estimated employment rate for people aged 16 to 64 years in Scotland was 74.8% in October to December 2025. This is 0.4 percentage points up over the quarter and 0.6 percentage points up over the year.
The estimated UK employment rate was 75.0% in October to December 2025. This is 0.1 percentage points down on the quarter but stayed the same over the year.
Chart 6: The employment rate for Scotland was lower than the UK
Employment rates for persons aged 16 to 64, Scotland and the UK, January to March 2019 through to October to December 2025
Source: Labour Force Survey, seasonally adjusted, ONS
Chart 7: Scotland had the 2nd highest employment rate across the countries of the UK
Employment rate and annual change for persons aged 16 to 64, UK countries, October to December 2025 compared to October to December 2024.
Source: Labour Force Survey, ONS
Note: Annual change shown in percentage points
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