The second study area provides a strong contrast. West Lothian is situated in the
‘central belt’ of Scotland, between the country’s two largest cities, Glasgow and
Edinburgh. It’s largest town, Livingston, is 15 km from Edinburgh, Scotland’s rapidly
expanding capital. The area is a major centre of manufacturing activity (and has therefore
recently experienced job losses as a result of adverse sectoral conditions). Despite these
problems, unemployment remains below the national average. However, West Lothian is
also a semi-rural/peri-urban labour market, with a number of scattered, sparsely
populated settlements, relatively isolated from the area’s centres of commerce and
services (the towns of Livingston and Bathgate). Accordingly, it might be argued that
those residing in outlying areas, without ready access to private transport, may face
similar barriers to work to job seekers in more remote rural areas. The area’s main towns
are, however, well served by Jobcentre facilities.
The vast majority of responses in both study areas were gathered through semi-
structured, face-to-face interviews (424), supplemented by a small number of postal
questionnaires (65). In total, 299 responses were gathered in West Lothian, and 190 in
Wick and Sutherland. Substantial minorities in both sample groups were ‘long-term
unemployed’ (using the ‘ILO definition’ of unemployed and available for work for twelve
months or more). As Table 1 illustrates, more than one-third of respondents in the West
Lothian sample, and two-fifths of those from Wick and Sutherland were long-term
unemployed, and the majority of both sample groups had been unemployed for at least
six months. The West Lothian sample group featured a higher proportion of young
people (defined here as the 18-24 age group) than the Wick and Sutherland sample (28-
20%). Respondents interviewed in Wick and Sutherland were, conversely, much more
likely to be aged ‘50 plus’ (an age group which, like 18-24 year olds, is specifically targeted
by welfare to work initiatives). However, the majority of both sample groups fell into the
middle category (‘25-49 years’). The average age of respondents in this category was
10