The amount of workless households in Scotland has fallen by 38,000 over the last year, according to figures released by the Office of National Statistics.

The report counts the number of households in which where no adults are working. The number in Scotland was 318,000, down 38,000 on the previous year. This makes it the second largest decrease in workless household levels across all 12 regions and countries of the UK.

The workless household rate in Scotland was 17.5%, indicating a drop of 2% over the year.

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The proportion of children in Scotland living in a workless household fell slightly by 0.5% to just under one in eight children or 11.8%. This compares to the rate across the UK of 12.7%.

Finance secretary John Swinney said: "We now have the highest jobs figures in history, the highest female employment in history, the lowest level of unemployment since the end of 2008, lower unemployment than the rest of the UK and higher employment and lower inactivity.

"However, we need to continue to build on this and our task is to make sure that everyone is able to benefit from our economic success. That means everyone who wants it should have access to the employment and training they need to get on in life.

"That is why we have already set out key measures – including £16 million of additional investment in tackling youth employment and £4.5 billion of investment in infrastructure - that will secure continued growth and further improvements in employment."

(IT/CD)