Monthly GDP Estimates for May

Scotland’s onshore GDP fell by 0.2% in May, according to statistics announced today by the Chief Statistician. This follows an unrevised fall of 0.5% in April and a revised fall of 0.3% in March.

In May, output in the services sector, which accounts for around three quarters of the economy, is estimated to have grown by 0.1%, after falling by 0.4% in April. Production sector output fell by 2.1% in May, with the fall of 9.7% in electricity and gas supply making the largest negative contribution to the overall GDP result.

In the three months to May, GDP is estimated to have fallen by 0.4% compared to the previous three month period. This reflects a decline in the economy during the second quarter of 2023 so far, after the downwardly revised growth of 0.2% in Quarter 1 2023 (January to March) reported in the Quarterly National Accounts also released today.

In other statistics released today, annual labour productivity is estimated to have grown by 2.0% in 2022, and is 0.4% below the pre-pandemic level in 2019. Over the longer term since the financial crisis, between 2008 and 2022, productivity in Scotland has increased by an average of 1.0% per year.

Background

https://www.gov.scot/publications/monthly-gdp-may-2023

https://www.gov.scot/publications/gdp-quarterly-national-accounts-2023-q1

https://www.gov.scot/publications/labour-productivity-2022

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the output of the economy in Scotland. The monthly estimates 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.

The GDP Quarterly National Accounts for 2023 Quarter 1 was also released today, containing revised quarterly statistics, along with a range of other statistics which are used for economic analysis, forecasting and modelling.

Labour productivity measures the amount of economic output, defined as gross value added (GVA), that is produced, on average, by each unit of labour input, and is an important indicator of economic performance.

All results are seasonally adjusted and presented in real terms (adjusted to remove inflation). GDP and productivity growth relate to Scotland’s onshore economy, which means they 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/