The jobless figure fell over three months

The number of people out of work north of the border dropped by 2,000 over the last three months.

Statistics released by the Scotland Office show the headline figure fell by 2,000 to 147,000 between February and April this year.

Scottish Secretary Helen Liddell welcomed the figures and said they show "the enduring strength of the Scottish labour market and continue to demonstrate the success of this government's management of the economy".

She added: "The sound economic foundations laid down by this government along with targeted action to increase employability and make work pay has transformed the prospects of thousands of Scots."

Jobless rate

The Scottish unemployment rate stands at 5.9%, a decline of 0.2% over the quarter and a fall of 1% over the previous year.

The number of people claiming benefit rose by 600 in May to 100,300 while the claimant count rate was unchanged at 3.8%.

According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the seasonally adjusted number of people in work between February and April was 2,401,000 - an increase of 16,000 on the previous three months and up by 61,000 on the same period last year.