Unemployment in Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire has fallen to its lowest rate since records began, latest figures have revealed.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), five per cent of the working age population of Renfrewshire was jobless during 2016/17.

In neighbouring East Renfrewshire, the unemployment rate stood at 3.5 per cent.

Tony Masterton, newly-appointed MP for East Renfrewshire, welcomed the latest statistics but said there is still room for improvement when it comes to getting people back into work.

He said: “I am delighted to see unemployment rates matching the very lowest on record in our area.

“East Renfrewshire has always had a high level of employment and low level of unemployment but there is always more we can do as politicians to promote growth and ensure employers are able to expand and provide jobs for future generations.”

Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP Mhairi Black said she is cautiously optimistic about the trend in higher rates of employment but warned that the current political landscape threatens to derail the jobs market.

She added: “It is very welcome news that employment in Scotland and Renfrewshire continues to rise. Unemployment now matches its lowest rate since records began.

“With this good news, we must be clear that a hard Brexit and potentially leaving the Single Market is a huge threat to jobs in Scotland.

“The UK Government has to reconsider their plans and look for broad consensus to see us retain our place in the Single Market.

“Given continuing employment challenges, the UK Government must look again at their plans to shut down Department of Work and Pensions offices throughout Scotland, including the Lonend contact centre in Paisley.”

On a national level, Scotland’s employment rate increased by 0.9 per cent.

Scotland continued to outperform the UK in terms of female employment rates and the youth employment rate in Scotland stood at 54.1 per cent, compared to 57.1 per cent for the UK as a whole.