Scotland’s unemployment rate has dropped to a joint-record low, though estimated wage growth is lagging behind the overall UK figure.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) found the unemployment rate has fallen by 1.1 percentage points in the past year to 3.2% – the joint lowest figure on record.

Estimated wage growth in Scotland is 5.3%, compared with 6.6% for the UK.

The Scottish government said the economy was showing “resilience”.

The ONS data reveals there were almost 90,000 people seeking work between April and July in Scotland, with the country’s unemployment rate lower than the 3.8% for the UK as a whole.

Scotland’s rate has dropped this low on three occasions – between February and April and January and March this year, as well as between January and March 2019.

The unemployment figure was unchanged from the previous quarter, increasing by just 2,000, but decreased by 1.1 percentage points when compared with the same quarter last year.

Similarly, employment increased by 1.2 percentage points during the same period, with 73,000 more people in work.

The ONS reported 75.4% employment between April and June, with around 2.7 million people working.

This was a drop of 0.1 percentage points, equivalent to 25,000 people.

Despite the relatively positive news for Scotland, estimated wage growth has fallen behind that of the UK as a whole.

Median monthly income for payrolled employees in July was £2,118, an increase of 5.3% on the same period in the previous year, but behind the 6.6% rise seen in the UK.

The ONS said estimated wages rose in Scotland by 12.8% between February 2020 – the last month before the start of the pandemic – and the most recent month, compared with 13.4% in the UK as a whole.

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