Economy

The Scottish economy shrank slightly in October, according to the latest GDP estimates. Scotland’s onshore GDP is estimated to have contracted by 0.2% in October, following unrevised 0.3% growth in September.

Scotland's labour market remained relatively stable from August to October 2024 despite economic challenges, ONS figures have revealed. In this period, the employment rate was down 0.4%, reaching 73.2% – slightly lower than the UK rate of 74.9%. However, Scotland's unemployment rate of 3.6% wa

The UK economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.1% in October, marking the second consecutive month of decline. The downturn raises concerns about the Labour government's ability to achieve its growth targets.

The EY ITEM Club has predicted the Bank of England will maintain the Bank Rate at 4.75% at its December Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting next week. This pause in the rate-cutting cycle is anticipated to be temporary, with the EY ITEM Club expecting a return to rate reductions in the new year,

Short-term lets (STLs) contribute positively to Scotland's economy, generating almost £1 billion in gross value added (GVA) and supporting nearly 30,000 jobs, according to BiGGAR Economics. BiGGAR's analysis claims the economic impact of Scotland’s self-catering industry has a negligible

Scotland's private sector maintained growth in November 2024, driven by the service sector, although manufacturing output continued to contract, according to RBS. The Scotland Business Activity Index remained above 50, with a reading of 51.1, indicating expansion, but eased slightly from October's r

Sales rose during Black Friday week as Scottish shoppers embraced deals both online and in-store, providing a much-needed boost to retailers. The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) has published data on shopping patterns on the Black Friday week (Sunday to Saturday sales figures) compared to the equiv

Scotland’s economy recorded strong growth in the first half of 2024 broadly keeping pace with the UK, but there are signs that growth is slowing in the second half of the year, according to the latest EY ITEM Club Scottish Forecast. GVA should expand by 0.7% over the course of 2024, slightly b

Scotland’s onshore GDP grew by 0.3% in September 2024, according to statistics announced by the Chief Statistician. This follows contraction of 0.6% in August 2024. In Q3 2024, GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.3% compared to the previous three month period. This follows growth of 0.4%

UK government borrowing hit £17.4 billion in October, the second-highest figure for the month on record. This surge, driven by increased public sector wages and rising debt interest payments, raises concerns about potential future tax hikes.

The UK's CPI inflation rose to 2.3% in October, exceeding economists' predictions of 2.2% and putting pressure on the Bank of England to postpone further interest rate cuts. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) attributed the increase primarily to higher energy bills, offsetting lower oil prices

The UK economy barely grew in the third quarter of 2024, registering a meagre 0.1% increase, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This marks a significant slowdown from the 0.5% growth seen in the previous quarter and places the UK sixth in the G7 growth league.

Scotland's labour market demonstrated continued resilience in the third quarter of 2024, despite a challenging economic environment.

Despite forecasting that the Chancellor's recent budget will prolong the fight against inflation, The Bank of England has cut the base interest rate a further 0.25 percentage points, bringing the interest rate to 4.75% and marking the second cut this year. The bank predicts that the budget's £

Scottish retail sales saw minimal growth in October 2024, increasing by just 0.1% in real terms compared to the previous year, continuing a trend of stagnant growth observed since June, according to the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC). Total sales dipped by 0.7% compared to October 2023, when they