Unemployment in Scotland fell in July, according to new figures published by the government.

The number of people out of work and claiming unemployment benefit dropped by 800 last month to 101,900, or 4.1% of the workforce.

The government's preferred figure from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) fell by 6,000 in Scotland over the three months to June.

The ILO figure, which includes people not eligible for benefit, recorded a 6.4% drop in Scottish jobless to 163,000.

Helen Liddell: "Encouraging figures"

The figures, published by the Office of National Statistics, come in the week it emerged that the Scottish economy was officially in recession.

Official figures showed that gross domestic product (GDP) fell for two consecutive financial quarters.

It was the first time since the early 1980s that the country had seen two successive falls in GDP - the definition used by many economists for a recession.

Over the past year, jobless figures for claimant count unemployment show a drop of 400, but ILO figures see an increase of 5,000 compared with the equivalent period 12 months earlier.

The number of people in employment from April to June 2002 was 2,392,000, up 20,000 compared with the previous three months.

Economic developments

However, it was down by 3,000 on the same period a year ago, according to the government's Labour Force Survey (LFS).

The employment rate amongst those of working age was 73.6%.

Commenting on the statistics, Scottish Secretary Helen Liddell said: "These encouraging figures are proof that the Scottish economy remains strong.

"We cannot be complacent - Scotland cannot remain immune to world economic developments.

"But the tough choices taken by this Government have resulted in a stable and supportive macroeconomic environment. The benefits to Scotland of being part of the UK economy are clear."