Meeting of the Parliament 18 March 2026 [Draft]
As discussed in previous answers, businesses in Scotland face a number of pressures, not least rising national insurance contributions and rising energy costs, both of which are the responsibility of the UK Government, not the Scottish Government. We are continuing to do all that we can to support businesses against that tough backdrop.
At the moment, 2.45 million people are payrolled in Scotland. That might be a slight decrease on the previous year, given some of the factors that I have discussed, but, compared with historical records, it is quite high. We should not forget the fact that unemployment rates in Scotland are lower than those in the rest of the UK, or our other successes in attracting inward investment to Scotland, which have created high-value jobs in our country.
The Scottish economy is resilient, but we are not immune to those pressures. Businesses are facing tough times and we will continue to do all that we can to help them.