Monthly GDP estimate for April

Scotland’s onshore GDP grew by 2% in April, according to statistics announced today by the Chief Statistician, as the stay at home restriction was lifted and the phased re-opening of consumer-facing services began. Output remains 3.7% below the pre-pandemic level in February 2020, but is now 1.1% above the previous high point in October, before restrictions were tightened over the autumn and winter months.

Output in the services sector grew by 2.6% compared to March, driven by the phased easing of restrictions for accommodation and food services, non-essential retail and other consumer-facing services during the month, as well as the return to in-school learning for all secondary school pupils.

Output in the production sector increased by 0.8% overall, with an increase of 3.8% in manufacturing offset by falls in the other three production subsectors. Output in the construction sector is estimated to have decreased by 2%.

Background

The Monthly GDP estimate for April 2021 is available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/monthly-gdp-april-2021

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the output of the economy in Scotland. These 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.

All results are seasonally adjusted and presented in real terms (adjusted to remove inflation). GDP growth in this publication relates to Scotland’s onshore economy, which means it does not include the output of offshore oil and gas extraction.

Further information on GDP statistics is available at http://www.gov.scot/gdp

These estimates are compiled in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics – more information on the standards of official statistics can be accessed at https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/code-of-practice/