Fall in Unemployment Welcome,
but Action to Support Business Growth Still Required

Wednesday 16th February 2011

Commenting on the news that Scottish unemployment fell by 13,000 over the three months to December 2010, Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:

“This is another welcome sign that the Scottish economy is recovering and that our unemployment rate is falling back towards the UK average.  One note of caution is that the Scottish economic cycle still appears to be lagging against the UK, and we are yet to feel the full effects of public sector cuts north of the border.  This means that we are yet to face some serious economic challenges over the course of 2011.

“Our message to the UK Government and to the Scottish Government is to balance the necessary action to reduce public spending with real support for business, enabling the private sector to grow and create the new jobs that Scotland needs in order to rebalance our economy.  We have seen this week the threat posed by new employment legislation from Westminster and Brussels.  It is time to set business free to grow and provide new employment opportunities.”

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