Scotland's Labour Market Insights: April 2024

People in work

ILO Employment rate (LFS)

The employment rate (the proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in work) in Scotland based on the ONS Labour Force Survey was estimated at 74.2 per cent in December 2023 to February 2024. Scotland's employment rate was below the UK rate of 74.5 per cent.

Employment rate by sex (APS)

The employment rate for men in the UK has typically been above the corresponding rate in Scotland, however the gap has increased in recent years.

The employment rate for women in Scotland had typically been above the employment rate for women in the UK. However, from 2016 employment rates for women in Scotland and the UK have been similar.

Figure 1: Employment rate for men in Scotland in January to December 2023 was 2.4 percentage points lower than the employment rate for men in the UK, while the employment rate for women in Scotland was 0.5 percentage points higher than the UK rate

Employment rates for persons aged 16 to 64 by sex, Scotland and the UK, year ending December 2004 to year ending December 2023

Source: Annual Population Survey, Jan-Dec datasets, ONS

Employment rate by age (APS)

Employment in Scotland varies by age group. As may be expected, younger and older age groups have lower employment rates.

The employment rate for 16 to 24 year olds has been consistently lower than the employment rate for any other age group since January to December 2006. This is due to higher numbers of people aged 16 to 24 in education. The proportion of people aged 16 to 24 who were in full-time education was 46.6 per cent in 2023 - the highest proportion in the series.

Figure 2: Employment rate for those aged 16 to 24 in Scotland has been lower than any other age group since January to December 2006

Employment rates for persons aged 16 to 64 by age group, Scotland, year ending December 2004 to year ending December 2023

Source: Annual Population Survey, Jan-Dec datasets, ONS

Employment rate by disability (APS)

We define disability based on the Equality Act 2010. Level and rate estimates for employment by disability are all based on those aged 16 to 64 years. There is more information in the Glossary section.

The employment rate for disabled people has been consistently lower than the employment rate for non-disabled people since January to December 2014. The employment rate for disabled people aged 16 to 64 was estimated at 52.7 per cent in January to December 2023. This was significantly lower than the employment rate for non-disabled people (83.0 per cent).

The disability employment rate gap is the difference between the employment rates for disabled and non-disabled people aged 16 to 64. It is calculated as the non-disabled employment rate minus disabled employment rate.

The disability employment rate gap has typically decreased from 37.9 percentage points (pp) in January to December 2014 to 30.2 pp in January to December 2023 – the narrowest gap in the series to date.

Figure 3: Employment rate for disabled people aged 16 to 64 has continually been lower than the employment rate for non-disabled people with the gap decreasing slowly over time

Employment rates for persons aged 16 to 64 by disability, Scotland, year ending December 2014 to year ending December 2023

Source: Annual Population Survey, Jan-Dec datasets, ONS

Employment rate by ethnicity (APS)

Respondents are asked questions about their ethnicity in the labour force survey interview. "Minority Ethnic" describes all ethnic groups excluding those who answered "White" to the first question. There is more information in the Glossary section.

There is likely to be variation between the individual ethnic groups included within the combined 'Minority ethnic' group which should be noted.

The employment rate for minority ethnic groups has been consistently lower than the employment rate for white groups. The employment rate for minority ethnic groups aged 16 to 64 was estimated at 62.0 per cent in January to December 2023 compared to 75.8 per cent for white groups.

Due to minority ethnic groups being a smaller group within the Scottish population, there is more variability in the employment rate estimates for minority ethnic groups than for white groups.

The minority ethnic employment rate gap is the difference between the employment rates for minority ethnic groups and white groups aged 16 to 64. It is calculated as the employment rate for white groups minus employment rate for minority ethnic groups.

In 2023, the estimated gap between the employment rate for white groups compared with minority ethnic groups was 13.8 percentage points (pp).

Figure 4: The employment rate for minority ethnic groups aged 16 to 64 has continually been lower than the employment rate for white groups

Employment rates for persons aged 16 to 64 by ethnicity, Scotland, year ending December 2011 to year ending December 2023

Source: Annual Population Survey, Jan-Dec datasets, ONS

Payrolled Employees (HMRC PAYE RTI)

This information is based on experimental monthly estimates of paid employees and their pay from HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) data.

Early seasonally adjusted estimates for March 2024 indicate that there were 2.45 million payrolled employees in Scotland, an increase of 0.5 per cent (12,000) compared with March 2023.  

Payrolled employees by age (HMRC PAYE RTI)

In April 2024, HMRC published monthly estimates for payrolled employees by age group up to March 2024. These estimates are based on the payrolled employees’ age at the time of receiving their payment.

Of the total payrolled employees in Scotland in March 2024, 94.4 per cent were aged 18 to 64 years.

Over the year to March 2024, the number of payrolled employees increased across all age groups, except the 18 to 24 year old and 50 to 64 year old age groups.

Figure 5: The 65 and over age group saw the largest percentage increase in payrolled employees since March 2023

Annual Percentage Change in Payrolled employees by age group, Scotland, March 2023 to March 2024

Source: PAYE RTI, all industries, seasonally adjusted, HMRC

Payrolled employees by industry (HMRC PAYE RTI)

The latest available HMRC data published in February 2024 shows that payrolled employee growth varies by industry sector. 

Of the 2.46 million payrolled employees in Scotland in January 2024, the highest numbers were employed in the Health and social work (15.2%); Wholesale and retail (13.5%) and Education (13.1%) industry sectors. The lowest numbers of payrolled employees were employed in the Mining and quarrying (0.8%); Energy, production and supply (0.7%); and Water supply, sewerage and waste (0.6%) and Households and extraterritorial organisiations (0.3%) industries.

The Energy, production and supply industry sector has shown the largest percentage growth in payrolled employees over the year to January 2024. Six industry sectors showed a decrease over the year.

Figure 6: The Energy sector has seen the largest percentage increase in payrolled employees since January 2023

Annual Percentage Change in Payrolled employees by industry sector, Scotland, January 2023 to January 2024

Source: PAYE RTI, all industries, seasonally adjusted, HMRC

Industry sectors are based on the ONS UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes.

Median earnings for payrolled employees (HMRC PAYE RTI)

The latest early estimates for March 2024 indicate that median monthly pay for payrolled employees in Scotland was £2,389, an increase of 6.3 per cent compared to the same period the previous year.

Adjusted for inflation (using the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH)), real earnings have grown by 2.4 per cent over the year to March 2024 compared with nominal earnings which had grown by 6.3 per cent over the same period.

Figure 7: Real pay for payrolled employees had remained relatively constant up until the pandemic. However, real pay in March 2024 is higher than at the start of the coronavirus pandemic

Median Real and Nominal Monthly Pay for payrolled employees, seasonally adjusted, Scotland, July 2014 to March 2024

Source: PAYE RTI, all industries, seasonally adjusted, HMRC and CPIH, ONS