21 Mar 2025
The latest Scottish labour market figures for the period November 2024 to January 2025 indicate sustained robustness, despite the challenging economic conditions. The estimates indicate that over the quarter, the economic inactivity rate decreased while the employment and unemployment rates increased. The headline figures for this period show the employment rate in Scotland was estimated at 74.1%, up 0.9% over the quarter. By way of comparison Scotland's employment rate was below the UK rate of 75%. The unemployment rate was estimated at 3.7%, up 0.1% over the quarter. Scotland's unemployment rate was below the UK rate of 4.4%.
The early seasonally adjusted estimates for February 2025 indicate that median monthly pay for payrolled employees in Scotland was £2,466, an increase of 4.8% compared with February 2024. It is perhaps inevitable that we will see some stalling of pay with the increase in employer National Insurance contributions from next month.
Employers across Scotland are preparing for the raft of new employment legislation and are understandably taking a cautious recruitment strategy. With unfair dismissal becoming a day one right, employers are eager to understand the mechanics of the "lighter touch" approach to dismissal during the probationary period. In the meantime employers should be auditing current probationary, performance management and disciplinary procedures to ensure they are robust and fit for purpose when the new legislation is implemented next year.
