West Lothian had just over 3000 people claiming unemployment benefits in January, according to new figures from the council’s Access2Employment (A2E) team.
The team, which coordinates local and regional programmes to provide employability support for West Lothian residents, said that while the level was nine per cent lower than in 2020 it was still higher than other parts of south-east Scotland.
And amid the cost of living crisis the number of claimants had increased since December.