The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment & Sustainable Growth John Swinney said:
"The report for June is the third month in a row that the Scottish labour market has outperformed the UK as a whole - reflecting the labour market figures published last week showing employment in Scotland rising and unemployment falling at seven-times the rate as in the rest of the UK - but the survey also shows that there can be absolutely no grounds for complacency.
"More needs to be done to support jobs, secure investment and boost economic activity across Scotland - and the report reinforces the need for a Plan B or flexibility from the UK Government in order to strengthen growth and recovery.
"We now have lower unemployment, higher employment, and a lower rate of economic inactivity in Scotland than the UK as a whole - and the lowest joblessness rate in Scotland for 18 months, with the eighth consecutive reported fall. And last week's PMI survey showed Scotland's private sector expanding for the sixth consecutive month in June.
"The economic policy of the Scottish Government is continuing to create and safeguard jobs across our communities – with a series of positive employment initiatives in recent weeks, including from Gamesa, AWS Osean Energy, Ceridian, State Street, the plans for the Climate Change Centre at Edinburgh University, and Aquamarine Power’s new Oyster wave energy converter unveiled at Methil last week.
"We have prioritised the role of capital investment as a key driver of recovery, and workforce jobs in construction have increased by 11.6 per cent in Scotland in the year to March, compared to a 0.2 per cent fall across the UK as a whole.
"However, with greater access to the key levers of economic growth, such as corporation tax and borrowing powers, we could do more to enhance investment and jobs in the Scottish economy, and give Scotland a major competitive advantage."
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