The key facts are: 👇 <\/p>\n Help for communities whose water supplies have run dry<\/strong><\/p>\n For more click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Investing in an evolving workforce<\/strong><\/p>\n “Available to support all employees of all ages and across the private, public and third sectors, I would encourage all those who are subject to the apprenticeship levy in Scotland to get in touch with our colleges to learn more about the opportunities available to them to improve and diversity their skillset and benefit from new training opportunities.” – Jamie Hepburn<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Elgin Business Park<\/strong><\/p>\n “Growing the economy is a key priority, and I want Moray to be seen as a highly successful and competitive region in which increasing numbers of people choose to live and businesses choose to invest.” <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Our new ministerial team have wasted no time in getting down to business. Find out what the economy team have been doing this past week. 👇<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":441,"featured_media":2605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104,3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-economy","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/scotlands-economy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/JHEP-LMS-1.jpg\")
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\u00a0Employment increased over the quarter and year, with 2,646,000 people now in work in Scotland<\/li>\n\u00a0Over the quarter and year Scotland\u2019s female employment rate increased to 72.1%, higher than UK rate of 71.3%<\/li>\n\u00a0Scotland\u2019s employment rate for young people is 56.3%, higher than UK rate of 53.6%<\/li>\n There are now 2,646,000 people in employment in Scotland, 82,000 more than the pre-recession peak<\/li>\n\u00a0At 4.3%, our unemployment rate is low by historical standards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/a>Finance Secretary Derek Mackay announced additional Scottish Government funding will be made available to Local Authorities and Scottish Water to ensure that emergency supplies of drinking water are provided to communities where their private water supplies have run dry.<\/p>\n<\/a>Business, Minister Jamie Hepburn announced that \u00a310million will be invested to extend the Flexible Workforce Development Fund pilot. For more click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
<\/a>Economy Secretary Derek Mackay marked the official start of construction at Elgin Business Park. When complete, the 125 acre Enterprise Park, which is supported by \u00a31.9 million from HIE,\u00a0is expected to offer a variety of industrial, office, warehousing, hospitality and retail premises and create hundreds of jobs.<\/p>\n
\n– Derek Mackay<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/a>In a\u00a0clear statement of our intent to grow and regenerate the economy in the South of Scotland, \u00a37.7 million of Scottish Government funding was awarded to The South of Scotland Economic Partnership (SOSEP) to support projects across Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders, to provide careers opportunities and build community resilience. For more click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n