UNEMPLOYMENT in West Fife continues to fall, according to new figures.

Numbers claiming Universal Credit in Dunfermline and West Fife dropped by 0.4 per cent in October, compared to the previous month.

The area is fairing better than Fife as a whole, as the claimant count has risen by 0.3 per cent across the Kingdom during the same period.

The Universal Credit statistics are for all people claiming the benefit, not just those unemployed, but the latest numbers showing those searching for work in Dunfermline and West Fife, known as the Alternative Claimant Count (ACC), dropped by 26.9 per cent in August 2021, compared to the previous year.

There are vacancies across a number of sectors in the area, including at Sky, Lloyds Banking Group and Openreach. A Jobs Fair is taking place on December 1 at the Glen Pavilion, Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline. If people wish to attend, they should contact their work coach or local Jobcentre.

Scotland’s unemployment rate between July and September was 4.1 per cent, a drop of 0.2 percentage points from the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) labour market data shows.

However, the unemployment rate remained 0.3 percentage points above the level for December 2019 to February 2020.

The employment rate also rose compared with the previous quarter by 0.6 percentage points to 74.8 per cent but remains 0.6 points lower than before the COVID-19 lockdown.

Latest figures from HMRC, however, show an increase in the number of people employed last month compared with the first month of the lockdown.

Some 2.39 million employees were recorded in Scotland in October by the tax agency, a 0.1 per cent rise compared with February 2020.

Employment minister Richard Lochhead said: “The Scottish Government continues to do all it can to support employees and employers and is investing more than £1 billion in 2021/22 to create jobs and ensure people have the skills needed to help seize Scotland’s potential and deliver a greater, greener, fairer and sustainable economy.”

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack added: “Today’s figures show encouraging signs for Scotland, with unemployment down and the number of people on the payroll continuing to grow.

“Our plan for jobs is working, helping people secure well-paid, skilled work. New figures today show that 100,000 young people have started new jobs through the Kickstart scheme, among them thousands of Scots who’ve been helped onto the first rung of their career ladders.

“The UK Government’s priority continues to be levelling up across the length and breadth of the UK. With a record £41 billion in Barnett-based funding for Scotland per year, we are supporting businesses to grow, communities to thrive and job opportunities to flourish in every part of the country.”