Monthly GDP Estimates for August

Scotland’s GDP increased by 2.6% in August, according to statistics announced today by the Chief Statistician. This is the fourth consecutive month of increasing GDP following the large drops in March and April, but represents a slowdown from the increase of 6.4% in July.

Despite the increases in the last four months, GDP remains 9.4% below the level in February, prior to the direct impacts of COVID-19.

In August there has been a more uneven pattern of growth among the main sectors of the economy than seen in recent months. Output in the services sector is estimated to have increased by 3.3% compared to July, output in the production sector fell by 0.3%, and construction sector output increased by 3.8%.

Background

Read the Monthly GDP Estimate for August.

This is the latest release of new monthly GDP statistics for Scotland. These statistics have been produced by the Scottish Government to help track the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are designated as experimental official statistics, which 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.

Change in gross domestic product (GDP) is the main indicator of economic growth. 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.

Read further information on GDP statistics.

These estimates are compiled in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics – read more information on the standards of official statistics.