Nicola Sturgeon has addressed the unemployment rates in Scotland after latest figures showed that 4.5% of the country were out of work.

Speaking at her daily briefing in Edinburgh, the First Minister also addressed Scottish football, the return of schools, the Aberdeen lockdown youth employment, the labour market and the latest figures from across the country.

Here are six things to take from today’s briefing:

READ MORE: John Swinney's SQA U-Turn: Seven things you need to know

Aberdeen Lockdown

The First Minister announced that 27 new cases have been confirmed in the Grampian health board area.

A total of 253 cases have been identified in Aberdeen since the 26 of July, with 165 of these associated with the cluster.

Nicola Sturgeon said: “So the rate of increase appears at this stage to be slowing down, but of course we remain very vigilant.”

Nicola Sturgeon added: “The restrictions which were put in place in Aberdeen last week will be reviewed tomorrow, so I will say more tomorrow about whether they will remain in place for longer, once we have been able to properly review the data and the other evidence and come to a conclusion.”

Labour market statistics

The number of people in work in Scotland fell by 15,000 between April and June as the impact of lockdown hit, according to the latest figures.

Nicola Sturgeon said: “When compared to the three months from January to March - unemployment in Scotland increased by 11,000, to 124,000. The unemployment rate during this period increased from 4.1% to 4.5%, and the employment rate fell from 74.7% to 74.3%.”

She added that experimental figures for July also show that the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits last month may have doubled since a year ago.

The First Minister said: “These figures demonstrate again that – despite the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme, and the support the Scottish Government is providing to business, all of which is very important - the public health crisis of Covid is creating a very significant economic crisis.

“The Scottish Government is determined to do everything we can to address that – we have already provided more than £2.3 billion of support for businesses.

Youth Unemployment

The First Minister said that a major focus will be placed on preventing youth unemployment.

She said: We know that youth unemployment can have a negative impact on people’s lives for years to come, but we also know – and today’s figures have confirmed this – that this pandemic is likely to lead to an increase in youth unemployment.

“That is why we have already committed to establishing a Youth Guarantee of opportunities for people aged 16 to 24. Fiona Hyslop will say more about that in parliament tomorrow.”

READ MORE: Swinney abandons SQA downgrades and lets pass rates soar after backlash

Modern Apprenticeships

Figures from Skills Development Scotland today showed a drop of almost 80% in the number of people who started modern apprenticeships between April and June of this year, compared to the equivalent period last year.

Nicola Sturgeon has said that the Scottish Government will now allocate an additional £10 million to help companies specifically recruit and retain apprentices.

That includes extra support for the “adopt an apprentice” programme which provides a financial incentive to businesses to employ an apprentice who has recently been made redundant.

Returning of Schools

Nicola Sturgeon said that the reopening of schools will “undoubtedly cause some anxiety” for children, young people, parents and teachers but is “a really welcome moment” for Scotland.

The First Minister added that parents should, if possible, still work from home as that “remains the safest and best option for many employees.”

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon says Celtic and Aberdeen should not expect to play this week

Scottish Football

The Scottish Government had admitted it was considering a suspension of football after the news broke but, as fresh talks between the government and the football authorities continued on Tuesday afternoon.

Ms Sturgeon said: “As a minimum, you should not be expecting to see Aberdeen and Celtic play over the course of the coming week.”

Sturgeon stressed she did not want rule-abiding clubs and players plus fans to be punished for the individual breaches but warned: “Consider today the yellow card. Next time it will be the red card because you will leave us with absolutely no choice.”