SCOTLAND’S jobless rate has fallen to four per cent — its lowest level since the recession and the lowest of the four UK home nations — after the number of people unemployed fell by 17,000 between February and April.

The rate is equal to the figure for March to May 2008, said the Scottish Government.

Official figures show the jobless total is now 109,000 — a drop of 49,000 over the year.

Employment rose by 14,000 in the three-month period and now stands at 2,624,000, up by 44,000 over the year. Scotland’s employment rate increased over the quarter to 74.1 per cent, below the UK average of 74.8 per cent, but the Scottish unemployment rate is below the UK average of 4.6 per cent.

Scotland’s employability minister Jamie Hepburn highlighted the female unemployment rate in Scotland, which stands at 4.1 per cent, below the UK average of 4.4 per cent, and the youth rate, at 8.8 per cent in Scotland compared with a UK average of 11.5 per cent.

“Once again, despite adverse prevailing economic conditions, Scotland’s job market continues to be resilient and robust, with female and youth unemployment rates lower than the UK average,” he said.

“The Scottish Government will continue to support growth and jobs in Scotland through our £500 million Scottish Growth Scheme and our £6 billion infrastructure plan.”

Grahame Smith, general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) said there were still issues to be addressed within the labour market, despite the positive figures.

“The Scottish Government should focus on the quality of work and should be doing everything in its power to drive up wages and living standards, beginning in the public sector by abolishing artificial wage restrictions, but also through public procurement contracts and the promotion of fair work,” he said.

The Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde said much of the growth in employment over the year has come from self-employment.

Dr Stuart McIntyre of the institute said: “Not nearly enough is known about the nature and composition of this recent growth in self-employment to judge whether this is a positive development. In addition, alongside the falls in unemployment we are seeing continued and sustained increases in economic inactivity — people leaving the labour market altogether.

“While the headline unemployment rate is impressive, it is underpinned by very little job growth, increases in self-employment, and sustained rises in economic inactivity.”

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) welcomed the figures, but said there was still work to be done.

Colin Borland, its head of devolved nations, said: “Despite consistently low confidence from small businesses over the past two years, these figures show that Scotland’s smaller businesses are still hiring. It is therefore incumbent upon the new UK government to shelve plans for any potential increases to National Insurance Contributions for these vital job creators.”

Liz Cameron, chief executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) said Scotland had experienced a significant rise in the number of people dropping out of the labour market over the past year.

She said: “Coupled with continued reports of hard-to-fill vacancies amongst Scottish businesses, this underlines the need for government to increase investment in training opportunities, not only for young people, but also for older workers to enable people to upskill and reskill and get back into the workforce.”