Scottish unemployment rate rises

The number of people unemployed in Scotland rose by 35,000 in the latest quarter to 179,000.

The government's figures for the three months to May said the Scottish jobless rate stood at 6.7%, below the UK average of 7.6%.

The number of people out of work had risen by 73,000 rise since the same quarter in 2008.

Other figures showed the number of people out of work and claiming benefit increased by 3,000 in June to 128,100.

There are now 54,300 more people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance than there were in the same month last year.

Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy said the statistics reflected the ongoing global economic difficulties.

He said: "The British government is making every effort to support those who have lost their jobs so the newly unemployed don't get stuck on benefits for years as happened during previous recessions."

Scottish Enterprise Minister Jim Mather said there was no doubt that businesses and households were going through tough times, but that Scotland was faring better than the UK in some respects.

"Scotland maintains a higher employment rate and a lower unemployment rate compared with the UK and many other advanced economies," he said.

The Scottish Chamber of Commerce warned that the situation would get worse before it got better.

The chamber's chief executive, Liz Cameron, said: "It is vital that we look to the future and plan to retain the skills within our economy that will help businesses to emerge from the recession in a stronger and more competitive position."