Employment rate: highest and lowest councils in Scotland (March 2026)
Orkney Islands had the highest employment rate of Scotland’s 32 councils in March 2026, at 91.4%.
Inverclyde had the lowest, at 65.9%. The middle council, Clackmannanshire, had 74.7%.
See it on the map| Rank | Council | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orkney Islands ONS rates this figure as uncertain. The survey sample in this council is small, so the margin of error is wide (more than 7.5 percentage points either way) or ONS does not publish one. | 91.4% |
| 2 | West Lothian | 83.6% |
| 3 | Edinburgh | 80.7% |
| 4 | Midlothian | 79.6% |
| 5 | Dumfries and Galloway | 78.8% |
| =6 | East Lothian | 78.6% |
| =6 | Falkirk | 78.6% |
| =6 | Scottish Borders | 78.6% |
| 9 | Shetland Islands ONS rates this figure as uncertain. The survey sample in this council is small, so the margin of error is wide (more than 7.5 percentage points either way) or ONS does not publish one. | 78.5% |
| 10 | Moray | 78.4% |
| 11 | Aberdeen | 77.3% |
| 12 | Aberdeenshire | 76.4% |
| 13 | South Lanarkshire | 76.2% |
| 14 | Perth and Kinross | 76.0% |
| 15 | East Renfrewshire | 75.8% |
| 16 | Clackmannanshire | 74.7% |
| 17 | South Ayrshire | 74.3% |
| 18 | East Dunbartonshire | 73.9% |
| =19 | North Ayrshire | 73.6% |
| =19 | North Lanarkshire | 73.6% |
| 21 | Fife | 73.5% |
| =22 | East Ayrshire | 73.2% |
| =22 | Stirling | 73.2% |
| 24 | Highland | 72.6% |
| 25 | Angus | 71.9% |
| 26 | West Dunbartonshire | 70.3% |
| 27 | Na h-Eileanan Siar ONS rates this figure as uncertain. The survey sample in this council is small, so the margin of error is wide (more than 7.5 percentage points either way) or ONS does not publish one. | 70.0% |
| 28 | Dundee | 69.3% |
| 29 | Renfrewshire | 69.1% |
| 30 | Argyll and Bute | 68.9% |
| 31 | Glasgow | 67.2% |
| 32 | Inverclyde | 65.9% |