Unemployment figures to be released after major job loss announcements
The Government is hoping for better news on the employment front after a raft of job losses dealt a huge blow to British industry.
Official unemployment figures will show whether the downwards trend is continuing.
The Resolution Foundation said today's figures could show that Scotland has returned to the employment level it had before the financial crash of 2008.
Scotland is one of three UK regions yet to restore pre-crash employment rates, along with Northern Ireland and the South East, said the think tank.
England closed its "jobs gap" in 2014 and now has a record employment rate of 74.3%.
A study by jobs website Glassdoor listed the best jobs for earning potential, careers and number of openings.
Management jobs in business development, finance, human resources and marketing were among the most popular, as well as business analyst and software engineer jobs.
Diarmuid Russell of Glassdoor said: "The UK jobs market is in a buoyant mood with record numbers of people in employment and a good ratio of available roles per job-seeker.
"These results demonstrate that popular jobs in business development, recruitment and HR mean UK businesses are placing greater importance on growing numbers, building teams and of course generating the highest net-profit possible."
Workers are still reeling from job loss announcements this week, including over 1,000 at steel giant Tata.
Last month's unemployment figures from the Office for National Statistics showed a jobless total of 1.71 million, and record employment levels of 31.3 million.
A new analysis by the IPPR think-tank found that a further 1,700 jobs could be lost in the supply chain of Welsh and English steel-making communities.
The worst-hit area will be in Port Talbot in South Wales, where 1,200 posts could be axed at the plant's suppliers, on top of 750 announced by Tata, it was estimated.
In Trostre, South Wales, Corby in Northamptonshire and Hartlepool, where up to a combined 300 jobs will go, a further 500 could be lost as the supply chain adjusts, said IPPR.
These are the jobs lost as a consequence of lost demand from the plants themselves, which will have a knock-on effect for their would-be supplier firms.
The supply chain job losses are likely to hit the basic manufacturers and suppliers of iron and machinery, and processors and suppliers of coke and petroleum.
Catherine Colebrook, IPPR chief economist, said: "British steel is facing difficult international headwinds, with slowing demand for steel from China having knock-on effects for the industry right across the world."
