High Level Summary of Statistics Trend Last update: Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Rural Economic Activity
The chart below shows that a higher proportion of people in rural areas are economically active (i.e. employed or looking for work) than in the rest of Scotland. Correspondingly, inactivity rates (those neither employed nor unemployed are lower in rural Scotland than in the rest of Scotland. The main reasons for being economically inactive are long-term sickness or disability, being a student and looking after family. A higher percentage of the working age population is either employed in education or training in rural areas than in the rest of Scotland.
In keeping with this, the employment rate (the number of people employed as a proportion of the total population of working age) is higher in rural Scotland than in the rest of Scotland.
The unemployment rate (the number of people unemployed as a percentage of the number economically active) is lowest in rural areas.
Source: Annual Population Survey in Scotland 2007 and based on the Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification 2007-2008.
Note: The above figures are based on the working age population except for the Unemployment rate which is based on the Economically Active population aged 16 and over.
Further Information