The number of new teachers securing full-time jobs after their first year is on the rise, according to new figures.
A survey for the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) fround nearly one in four (24.9%) teachers who completed their probation year in 2010-11 found a full-time permanent job, while 34.2% were hired on full-time temporary contracts.
The total figure of 59.1% is significantly higher than the previous year, when 46% secured full-time work.
Overall 12% were not in employment, compared to 16.2% the previous year. However, fewer teachers responded to the latest survey, with 623 replies from 2748 teachers who were invited to take part.
Anthony Finn, chief executive of GTCS, said he was encouraged that job prospects were improving, but good teachers were still struggling to find work
He said: "There appears to be a prevalence of temporary teaching contracts, which cannot be good for the stability of the profession and the consistency of teaching for our young people.
"However, it looks like the figures bottomed-out in 2009-2010 and are now rising which is a positive sign."
Education Secretary Michael Russell said: "We know that teacher unemployment is much lower in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK. These results show that probationer teacher employment is better than in each of the last two years.
"The most recent numbers of teachers claiming jobseeker's allowance, from April 2012, were lower than in the same month in 2011. This positive trend has emerged over the past 20 months and I am keen to ensure it continues."
Larry Flanagan, general secretary of teachers' union EIS, said: "These figures show that employment prospects for newly qualified teachers have improved over the past year, though much more still needs to be done to ensure that sufficient numbers of stable employment opportunities are made available across Scotland."
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