Scotland has had ‘slower growth’ in employment and wages since 2014, report says
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report has discovered there was “slower growth” in employment and incomes ranges in Scotland since 2014.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) present in a report, printed at this time, that whereas employment and earnings in Scotland grew considerably sooner than the remainder of the UK through the 2000s, since 2014, this development has slowed down.
The report reveals the employment charge in Scotland in 2014 was 74% – 1% greater than the broader UK.
Since 2021, the employment charge had grown to 74.7%, however was overtaken by the broader UK employment charge (75.5%).
The IFS additionally discovered that, exterior of London, common month-to-month UK earnings grew by almost 5% in actual phrases and accounting for inflation between 2015 and 2022, however they grew by simply 1.5% in Scotland.
It additionally discovered a deterioration in employment and wages within the Scottish Highlands, Islands and within the north east of Scotland – stating a decline in employment and earnings within the oil and gasoline trade as a “likely” purpose.
The report highlights that these areas have “historically had relatively strong labour market outcomes”.
The employment charge within the Highlands, Islands and North East fell by round three proportion factors between 2013-2015 and 2020-2022.
In distinction, employment throughout the remainder of Scotland grew by two proportion factors within the south of Scotland and west central Scotland, preserving tempo with the remainder of the UK.
The advanced regional patterns and developments in employment and earnings pose one thing of a coverage conundrum for the Scottish Government, particularly given the restricted funding it has obtainable
Monthly earnings on common within the north east of Scotland fell from 30% above the UK common exterior of London to 16% in 2022, and earnings within the Highlands and Islands fell from 6% beneath common to 10% beneath over the identical interval.
Despite the current deterioration in efficiency, the report discovered that employment within the Highlands, Islands and North East stays above the Scottish common – and month-to-month earnings within the North East stay greater than the remainder of Scotland and many of the UK.
David Phillips, an affiliate director on the Institute for Fiscal Studies and one of many report’s authors, mentioned: “The complex regional patterns and trends in employment and earnings pose something of a policy conundrum for the Scottish Government, especially given the limited funding it has available.
“On the one hand, it is likely to face political pressure to provide additional support to the North of Scotland to help make up for reductions in employment and earnings associated with the decline in the oil and gas industry.
“Moreover, it will want to keep the – often highly skilled and highly paid – workers from these sectors in Scotland, not least given the outsize contribution their earnings make to supporting local economies and devolved tax revenues.
“On the other hand, it remains the case that the areas with lowest earnings and employment are concentrated in Central and South Western Scotland, despite improvements in performance in some of the more deprived areas around Glasgow in recent years.
“This may suggest focusing general support for skills, employability and economic development on the traditionally struggling areas of Scotland, but providing targeted interventions to help workers in the oil, gas and other sectors to take up other opportunities in Scotland (for instance, related to the green energy transition).”
The SNP should get severe about delivering extremely expert, excessive wage jobs and ending a decade of depressed financial efficiency
Scottish Liberal Democrat financial system spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP mentioned: “It’s astonishing that despite the disastrous economic record of the Conservative party over the past nine years, somehow the nationalists have managed to be even worse.
“Low growth means less money for public services.
“The SNP must get serious about delivering highly skilled, high wage jobs and ending a decade of depressed economic performance.”
The SNP was contacted for remark.