Commenting on today’s labour market statistics which show rising economic inactivity in Scotland, Labour Economy spokesperson Jackie Baillie said:

“No amount of Scottish government spin can hide the fact that we have fundamental problems in our labour market.

“Figures for economic inactivity show that 190,000 Scots are out of employment but want a job. SNP ministers should sit up and take notice of these figures, and ask hard questions as to why.

“The number of people in work in Scotland is falling, with Scotland having seen the second largest decrease in its employment rate across the UK nations and regions.

“Economic inactivity in Scotland has increased over the past year while it has fallen across the UK.

“The SNP is trying to brush these figures under the carpet, if ministers are serious about economic development they would commission a study into economic inactivity in Scotland.

“However, as we saw from their game playing yesterday, where the SNP refused to endorse the importance of the UK single market to Scottish jobs, we know that the economy  comes second to politics with the nationalists