Scotland’s labour market continues to experience a period of historically low unemployment and near historically high employment.
This is a pattern reflected across the UK.
Among those in employment, the balance has shifted back toward growth in the number of employees with a recent fall in the number self—employed (in part, reversing a trend witnessed for over 10 years).
While these headline indicators suggest that the labour market is in good health, wider indicators give some cause for concern.
Much of the growth in employment since the global financial crisis is driven by increases in employment among those aged 65+.
Authors
The Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI) is a leading economy research institute based in the Department of Economics at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.