Encouraging signs for economic recovery

New figures published by the Chief Statistician show that economic output is estimated to be back above pre-pandemic levels, a sign of the strength of the Scottish economy.

GDP grew by 0.8% in November, meaning that economic output is now 0.6% higher than in February 2020, before the main economic impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) began to be felt. The rise was driven by strong performances by the services sector which was up by 0.5%, production which grew by 1.7% and the construction sector which is estimated to have grown by 3.6% compared to the previous month.

Economy Secretary Kate Forbes said:

“This is fantastic news for the Scottish economy, with Scottish GDP estimates now above pre-pandemic levels. It reveals the fundamental underlying strengths of the Scottish economy, despite the many challenges of Covid-19.

“While we know our economic recovery remains fragile – not least due to the recent necessary public health measures introduced in response to the omicron variant – we can be confident that these latest GDP estimates signal a return to pre-pandemic levels which is extremely encouraging.  

“The Scottish Government remains firmly focused on supporting our economy to fully recover and that is why we are working with businesses to invest in growth.”

Background

All results are seasonally adjusted and presented in real terms (adjusted to remove inflation).

GDP growth relates to Scotland’s onshore economy, which means it does not include the output of offshore oil and gas extraction.

Monthly GDP is an experimental statistics release for Scotland. 

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the output of the economy in Scotland. The monthly estimates have been developed to help track the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These are designated as experimental official statistics. This means that they are still in development but have been released to enable their use at an early stage. All results are provisional and subject to relatively high levels of uncertainty.

Further information on GDP statistics. These estimates are compiled in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.