With Scotland’s working age population shrinking and ageing, skills and labour shortages are becoming an increasing concern, a new report highlights.
The latest briefing in the navigating population change series, Navigating Population Change - Economic and workforce implications for Scotland, produced by the Improvement Service, outlines the relationship between population change and jobs and the economy and how local authorities can address this.
The report emphasises the importance of migration in driving population growth, especially in areas experiencing decline. Yet challenges exist which are putting future population growth at risk. Local authorities are urged to take action by rebalancing the population and maximizing the potential of the existing workforce. This includes place-based approaches to make areas more attractive and targeted employment support to encourage regional migration.
Overall, the report calls for collaboration between local and national government to address these challenges and support sustainable economic development in Scotland.