Indicator Updates April 2024

In Shetland, the percentage of children living in (relative) low income families increased slightly from 11.8% in 2021/22 to 12.3% in 2022/23 (DWP).

In 2023, Shetland had the third lowest level of children living in low income families in Scotland, behind East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire. 12.3% is, however, higher than pre-pandemic levels and the higher cost of living in remote and rural Scotland is not taken into account.

In general, the statistics in Scotland and Shetland show a gradual increase in levels of child poverty since the early 2010s (Scottish Government), though levels in Shetland are consistently lower than Scotland as a whole.

In 2022, 14.0% of the population in Shetland were aged 16-29. This is a decline from the baseline of 15.5% and is lower than the 2021 target of having at least 18% of the population in this age category.

The decrease from 2021 to 2022 (0.6%) is the largest drop since 2018 to 2019 (0.3%). The downward trend is similar to that of Scotland as a whole, however the figures for Scotland stayed at 16.9% for 2022.

In 2022 there were 13,400 employees in Shetland. This is a decrease from the previous year which exceeded the 2021 target, as well as a decrease from the 2018 baseline.

Identifying the reasons for the decrease from 2021 to 2022 is difficult, however it may be that the numbers are stabilising after the impacts of Covid-19 and large scale construction projects in Shetland. However, more recent data from NOMIS shows that economic activity has increased in Shetland between September 2022 and September 2023.