Scotland's Labour Market Insights: July 2025

People in work

Employment rate (LFS)

The employment rate (the proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in work) in Scotland based on the ONS Labour Force Survey was estimated at 74.9% in March to May 2025. Scotland's employment rate was below the UK rate of 75.2%.

Employment rate by sex (APS)

The employment rate for men in Scotland has consistently been above the employment rate for women in Scotland, however the gap has typically been narrowing over time.

Figure 1: The employment rate for women in Scotland has been slowly increasing over time, from 67.8% in April 2004 to March 2005 to 71.6% in April 2024 to March 2025

Employment rates for persons aged 16 to 64 by sex, Scotland, year ending March 2005 to year ending March 2025

Source: Annual Population Survey, April to March datasets, ONS

Shaded areas represent 95% confidence intervals around the estimates.

Employment rate by age (APS)

Employment in Scotland varies by age group. As may be expected, younger and older age groups have lower employment rates.

The employment rate for 16 to 24 year olds has been consistently lower than the employment rate for any other age group since April 2006 to March 2007. This is due to higher numbers of people aged 16 to 24 being in education.

Figure 2: Employment rate for those aged 16 to 24 in Scotland has been lower than any other age group since April 2006 to March 2007

Employment rates for persons aged 16 to 64 by age group, Scotland, year ending March 2005 to year ending March 2025

Source: Annual Population Survey, April to March datasets, ONS

Shaded areas represent 95% confidence intervals around the estimates.

Full-time/Part-time Employment (APS)

In April 2024 to March 2025, an estimated 1,984,500 people aged 16 and over were in full-time employment while 681,100 worked part-time. Full-time employment as a percentage of all employment has been broadly similar since April 2020-March 2021.

Figure 3: In April 2024 to March 2025, an estimated 74.4% of those in employment worked full-time, while 25.6% of those in employment worked part-time

Proportion of employment for persons aged 16 years and over by work pattern, Scotland, year ending March 2005 to year ending March 2025

Source: Annual Population Survey, April to March datasets, ONS

Notes:

1. Estimated proportions are based on those who responded to the survey question on whether they worked full-time or part-time.
2. Shaded areas represent the confidence intervals around the estimates.

Since April 2004 to March 2005, full-time employment as a percentage of all employment has decreased for men (an estimated 89.7% compared to 86.0% in April 2024 to March 2025) but increased for women (an estimated 58.3% compared to 62.6% in April 2024 to March 2025).

Figure 4: In April 2024 to March 2025, a higher proportion of men were in full-time employment compared to women (86.0% of men compared to 62.6% of women). A higher proportion of women worked part-time compared to men (37.4% compared to 14.0%)

Proportion of employment for men and women aged 16 years and over by work pattern, Scotland, April 2024 to March 2025

Source: Annual Population Survey, April 2024 to March 2025, ONS

Notes:

1. Estimated proportions are based on those who responded to the survey question on whether they worked full-time or part-time.
2. Error bars represent the confidence intervals around the estimates.

Self Employment (APS)

Figure 5: In April 2024 to March 2025, an estimated 11.6% of people in employment aged 16 and over were self employed (311,000 people)

Proportion of people in employment aged 16 years and above who are self-employed, Scotland, year ending March 2005 to year ending March 2025

Source: Annual Population Survey, April to March datasets, ONS

Shaded areas represent the confidence intervals around the estimates.

The number of self-employed people is estimated to have increased in the last two years, however it remains lower than before the pandemic.

As data sources rely on self-reported employment status from individuals responding to the survey, it is difficult to identify whether this reflects a genuine change in behaviour or simply a change in reporting. There are a number of factors that may have led self-employed workers to change their reported status without significant changes to their working patterns, including the introduction of the furlough scheme during the pandemic and tax changes in April 2021.

Since the start of the series consistently more men than women have reported being self-employed. In April 2024 to March 2025, an estimated 14.8% of men in employment were self-employed, compared to 8.4% of women.

Permanent Employees (APS)

Figure 6: In April 2024 to March 2025, an estimated 95.4% employees were employed on permanent contracts (2,235,700 employees)

Proportion of employees aged 16 years and over who are employed on a permanent contract, Scotland, year ending March 2005 to year ending March 2025

Source: Annual Population Survey, April to March datasets, ONS

Notes:

1. Estimated proportions are based on those who responded to the survey question on whether their employment was permanent or non-permanent.
2. Shaded areas represent the confidence intervals around the estimates.

Public Sector Employment Statistics

As of March 2025, 598,700 people were employed in the public sector in Scotland.  Employment in the public sector accounted for over one fifth (22.3%) of total employment in Scotland as of March 2025.

For further information, and the latest official estimates of public sector employment in Scotland, please visit: Public Sector Employment in Scotland Statistics for 1st Quarter 2025 - gov.scot

The Scottish Government published economic analysis on the Scottish public sector in May 2024, considering how this has changed over time and how it compares to other parts of the UK and internationally: Public sector: economic overview - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Public Sector Employment (APS)

Note that the APS is not the official source for estimates of public sector employment, as this tends to overestimate the level of employment in the public sector due to self-reporting. However, the APS can be used to provide estimates for the characteristics of people employed in the public sector.

Figure 7: In April 2024 to March 2025, an estimated 38.2% of women in employment were employed in the public sector, higher than the proportion of men (19.3%). This proportion has been consistently higher for women than men over the time series

Proportion of men and women in employment who are employed in the public sector, people aged 16 years and over, Scotland, year ending March 2005 to year ending March 2025

Source: Annual Population Survey, April to March datasets, ONS

Shaded areas represent the confidence intervals around the estimates.

Underemployment (APS)

Underemployment refers to those who are in employment but who would prefer to work more hours in their current job (at their basic rate of pay), in an additional job or in a new job with longer hours to replace their current job. This provides a measure of underutilisation of labour.

Figure 8: In January to December 2024, an estimated 5.2% of those in employment were underemployed. This proportion peaked in 2012, however it has been generally decreasing since then and is now the lowest in the January to December series

Proportion of persons aged 16 years and over in employment who are underemployed, Scotland, year ending December 2004 to year ending December 2024

Source: Annual Population Survey, January to December datasets, ONS

Shaded areas represent the confidence intervals around the estimates.

Figure 9: In January to December 2024, an estimated 5.8% of women were underemployed, compared to 4.6% of men. The proportion of women who are underemployed has been consistently higher than the proportion of men over time

Proportion of men and women in employment who are underemployed, for persons aged 16 years and over, Scotland, year ending December 2004 to year ending December 2024

Source: Annual Population Survey, January to December datasets, ONS

Shaded areas represent the confidence intervals around the estimates.

Based on the current data quality rules and data confidence ratings we considered as part of our Quality Assessment of the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey and Annual Population Survey data for Scotland:

• the overall underemployment and underemployment by sex estimates for January to December 2024 remain robust
• we have moderate confidence in the January to December 2024 underemployment estimates for men and women, indicating that these estimates are suitable, but incomplete, measures of reality and conclusions can be drawn but limitations should be understood

Payrolled Employees (HMRC PAYE RTI)

This information is based on monthly estimates of paid employees and their pay from HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) data.

Early seasonally adjusted estimates for June 2025 indicate that there were 2.45 million payrolled employees in Scotland, a decrease of 0.6% (-16,000) compared with June 2024.  

Payrolled employees by age (HMRC PAYE RTI)

The latest available HMRC data published in July 2025 shows that annual change in payrolled employees varies by age. 

Of the estimated 2.45 million payrolled employees in Scotland in June 2025, 32.4% were aged 35 to 49 and 28.7% were aged 50 to 64.

The 35 to 49 age group saw the largest increase in the estimated number of payrolled employees over the year to June 2025 (up 4,000). The 50 to 64 age group saw the largest decrease over this period (down 8,000).

The 65 and over age group saw the largest percentage increase over the year (up 3.5%). The under 25 age groups saw the largest percentage decreases over the year (down 8.3% for the under 18 age group and down 1.8% for the 18 to 24 age group).

Figure 10: The 35 to 49 age group saw the largest increase in payrolled employees since June 2024

Annual Change in Payrolled employees by age, Scotland, June 2024 to June 2025

Source: PAYE RTI, all age groups, seasonally adjusted, HMRC

Data for Figure 10 can be obtained from Earnings and employment from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information, seasonally adjusted data released on 17 July 2025.

Changes over the year are rounded to the nearest thousand.

Note: Early estimates for June 2025 are provided to give an indication of the likely level of payrolled employees in the latest period. The figures are based on around 85% of information being available. They are considered of lower quality and may be subject to revision in next month's release when between 98% to 99% of data will be available.

Payrolled employees by industry (HMRC PAYE RTI)

The latest available HMRC data published in May 2025 shows that annual change in payrolled employees varies by industry sector. 

Of the estimated 2.45 million payrolled employees in Scotland in April 2025, the highest numbers were employed in the Health and social work (15.3%), Wholesale and retail (13.4%), and Education (13.3%) industry sectors. The lowest numbers of payrolled employees were employed in the Mining and quarrying (0.8%); Energy production and supply (0.8%); Water supply, sewerage and waste (0.6%) and Households and extraterritorial organisations (0.3%) industries.

The Energy production and supply industry sector has shown the largest percentage growth in payrolled employees over the year to April 2025. Twelve industry sectors showed a decrease over the year to April 2025.

Figure 11: The Energy sector has seen the largest percentage increase in payrolled employees since April 2024

Annual Percentage Change in Payrolled employees by industry sector, Scotland, April 2024 to April 2025

Source: PAYE RTI, all industries, seasonally adjusted, HMRC

Data for Figure 11 can be obtained from Earnings and employment from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information, seasonally adjusted data released on 13 May 2025.

Industry sectors are based on the ONS UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes.

Notes: Based on early April 2025 estimates published in May 2025. April 2025 estimates are based on around 85% of information available at the time of publication and may be subject to more significant revisions. Payrolled employees by industry sector is updated quarterly. The next estimates, comparing early estimates for July 2025 with July 2024, will be published in August 2025.

Median earnings for payrolled employees (HMRC PAYE RTI)

The latest early estimates for June 2025 indicate that median monthly pay for payrolled employees in Scotland was £2,546, an increase of 5.4% in nominal terms compared to the same period the previous year.

Real median monthly pay for payrolled employees in Scotland, adjusted for inflation (using the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH)), has grown by 1.3% over the year to June 2025.

Figure 12: Nominal pay for payrolled employees has increased steadily over time. Real pay for payrolled employees is above the pre-pandemic level.

Median Real and Nominal Monthly Pay for payrolled employees, seasonally adjusted, Scotland, July 2014 to June 2025 

Source: PAYE RTI, all industries, seasonally adjusted, HMRC and CPIH, ONS