UNEMPLOYMENT in Scotland has risen by 11,000 despite a drop in the UK's overall jobless total.

Official statistics show that for the period July to September there were 166,000 people out of work, including those not eligible for benefits, an increase of11,000 on the previous quarter and 2,000 more than the same period last year.

It is the second month in a row that Scotland has seen its jobless total rise while unemployment across the UK has been reducing.

Scotland continues to have a higher unemployment rate than the UK, at 6% north of the border compared to 5.3%, the figures from the Office for National Statistics also show.

Despite the rise in unemployment, the number of Scots in work increased by 3,000 over the last quarter to a new total of 2,614,000 - up by 9,000 on the previous year.

The employment rate, which is unchanged at 74.1%, continues to be above the 73.7% recorded across the UK as a whole.

While unemployment increased there was a fall in the number of Scots who are out of work and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance, with this dropping by 1,700 from September to stand at 68,800 in October.

That means the number of Scots claiming Jobseeker's Allowance has fallen by 20,200 over the year.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: "The labour market performance in Scotland is mixed with the number of people in employment at historically high levels but unemployment starting to move upwards.

"We will monitor the gap with the UK unemployment rate while continuing to pursue our policies for a low tax and higher wage economy that will benefit Scottish workers."