THE SNP has called on Rishi Sunak to rule out a return to Tory austerity cuts after the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) figures show UK unemployment has risen to 5.1%.
SNP shadow chancellor Alison Thewliss urged the Chancellor to use next week’s Budget “to deliver major investment to protect jobs and kick-start the recovery”.
The number of workers on UK payrolls has fallen by nearly 730,000 since the start of the pandemic and the jobless rate has surged to its highest level since 2016, but official figures revealed “early signs” of a stabilising jobs market.
The ONS said the number of payrolled workers rose by 83,000 between January and February in the second small monthly increase in a row. But the data showed the toll taken by the coronavirus crisis on the jobs market, with 726,000 fewer workers on payrolls since February last year.
Figures show this is the highest since early 2016 when it was also 5.1%. The rate was last above this in the autumn of 2015, when it was 5.2%. Unemployment stood at 1.7 million between October and December, up 454,000 over the year, marking the biggest annual increase since the financial crisis.
Thewliss said: “The SNP is calling for a fiscal stimulus of at least £98 billion, the equivalent of 5% of GDP, to deliver an investment-led recovery, with a focus on creating jobs and boosting incomes. Instead of withdrawing support, the Tories must extend the furlough scheme and plug the gaps by delivering help.”
Meanwhile, the employment rate in Scotland fell slightly in the last quarter.
The ONS said the employment rate in Scotland among those aged 16 to 64 was 73.7% between October and December last year, 0.3% down on the previous quarter.
This was in contrast to the UK unemployment rate which was up 0.4% on the previous three months.
Doctor Stuart McIntyre, head of research at the Fraser of Allander Institute, said: “Today’s labour market data reinforces three key points about the Scottish economy through 2021.
“First, and most immediately, with over 280,000 jobs still furloughed in Scotland at the end of 2020, the manner and pace at which the furlough scheme is wound down is going to be key.
“Second, the timing and pace of economic recovery is tightly bound to the easing of public health restrictions.
“Third, some parts of Scotland have faced much greater exposure to the economic fallout from the pandemic. In particular the north-east of Scotland and the Highlands and Islands.
“This cannot be forgotten when we begin the necessary work of rebuilding our economy.”
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