amid the gloom, the smallest chink of light on the employment front. The latest quarterly job figures show Scotland is faring better than the rest of the UK, creating more jobs and seeing fewer people thrown on the scrapheap. But that's as good as it gets.  The SNP has been crowing over the figures, taking credit for a better than UK average performance, which apparently proves the Scottish Government's policies are working.  Michael Moore, the Scottish Secretary, takes a less optimistic view, conceding the need to create the conditions that enable all businesses to thrive and create more sustainable jobs.  While we should be grateful for seeing the Scottish numbers moving in the right direction, they cannot conceal some worrying trends. The number in work over the year was down. The number out of work and claiming Jobseekers' allowance rose by 1,400, the fourth monthly increase in a row.  This situation is unlikely to improve as the Budget cuts kick in and Scotland's recovery lags the UK.  Getting Britain back to work in any meaningful way will rest on the shoulders of Chancellor George Osborne, who's Budget next month offers an opportunity for new measures to tackle the problem.  The feedback I am getting is that the private sector is not creating jobs at the rate required to mop up those being displaced in the public sector, a process that is likely to accelerate.  While some sectors are thriving and creating work - renewables, oil and gas and even financial services - demand does not match supply and a skills and culture gap exists that means many of those being tipped out simply do not suit private sector employers. Of those jobs that are being created, many are part-time, including many of the much-lauded supermarket jobs that we hear so much about.  Youth unemployment is a particular worry. The number of 18-24 year-old claimants has increased by 70 per cent since the recession began and there are now 39,000 fewer young Scots in employment than two years ago, a so-called lost generation.  There has been much talk around the Scotland Bill that it could provide the taxation powers the country needs to help stimulate economic growth. This is a complex issue that divides opinion, but the case for a package of measures that would incentivise businesses to invest should be promoted with or without further legislation.  mervyn King was expected to show he was about to bow to the pre