Joblessness keeps rising in doleful Scotland
- By Stefan Morkis
- Published in the Courier : 16.09.10
- Published online : 16.09.10 @ 07.04am
(Page 2 of 3)
Colin Borland of the FSB said, "This worrying rise underlines the need to get more jobs into the Scottish economy. With big business downsizing and the public sector getting ready to do so... it will be down to small businesses to create them.
"Small businesses have a proven track record of expanding the labour market — creating two jobs for every one big business shed in the last decade — but to fill this growing employment gap we need better and more focused support.
"Despite everything, about a third of our members are still operating at or above capacity.
"We therefore need to see all government support targeted squarely at making it easier and more affordable for these businesses to expand their workforce and help reverse this damaging trend."
Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said, "That the Scottish unemployment rate is now far in excess of the UK average is very worrying indeed, particularly as Scotland is likely to be heavily exposed to public sector spending cuts over the next few years.
"Unemployment has been falling in the rest of the UK for most of this year but here in Scotland the numbers are heading in the wrong direction."
Economic disaster
Grahame Smith, general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, said, "The ongoing and steep rise in unemployment is a social and economic disaster for Scotland."
He welcomed the rise in employment but said this was "largely attributable" to strong growth in the construction sector and warned this was "almost certainly unsustainable."
Labour finance spokesman Andy Kerr described the unemployment statistics as "deeply concerning."
He said, "They show Scotland is moving in the wrong direction and young people are being particularly hard hit by rising unemployment.
"We simply cannot allow another generation to be thrown on the scrapheap.
"The anonymous Scottish Secretary Michael Moore must start standing up for Scotland and stop doing the Tories' job for them."
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