Kate Forbes

Output remains 2.4% below the pre-pandemic level in February 2020.

Output in the services sector, which accounts for around three-quarters of the economy, grew by 0.4% in July, with increases in nine of the fourteen subsectors.

Output in the production sector contracted by 3.0% in July, with falls in the mining and quarrying, manufacturing, and electricity and gas supply subsectors.

The largest contribution to the fall in GDP was the 9.9% drop in the electricity and gas supply subsector, due to unusually low levels of wind and hydro-generated electricity during the summer.

Output in the construction sector is provisionally estimated to have fallen by 0.4% in July, broadly in line with the UK as a whole over the course of the latest three months.

In the three months to July, GDP is estimated to have grown by 3.4% compared to the previous three month period. This reflects a slowdown in growth relative to the Quarter 2 (April to June) estimate of 4.7%.

Economy secretary Kate Forbes said: “It is positive to see sectors, including the service sector which was particularly affected by the pandemic, continue to grow. Although monthly figures will fluctuate, especially in the current economic conditions, it is encouraging that the Scottish economy has grown by 3.4% in the last three months.

“Conditions remain difficult for many businesses – especially as a result of ongoing consequences from Brexit – however despite these challenges, the resilience and ingenuity of business and our labour market are creating conditions for sustainable economic growth. For our part, we will continue to do all we can to engage with businesses and create the conditions for them to grow and prosper in Scotland.”