Unemployment has risen again with the latest figures showing that 16,000 more Scots have joined the dole queue.

Official statistics revealed that the jobless total had risen over the period of October to December to 231,000.

At the same time the number of people in employment fell by 20,000.

The unemployment rate is still higher in Scotland than it is in the UK as a whole, with 8.6% of Scots not in work compared to 8.4% across the United Kingdom.

While the unemployment total includes people who are out of work but not eligible for benefits, the latest statistics showed a slight drop in the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance.

This fell by 200 in January to 141,200. However this is still 1,500 more than the same time last year.

Over the period October to December last year 2,458,000 Scots were in employment - 28,000 less than the same quarter in 2010.