Monthly GDP Estimates for September

Scotland’s GDP increased by 1.6% in September, according to statistics announced today by the Chief Statistician. This is the fifth consecutive month of increasing GDP, but output remains 7.6% below the level in February prior to the direct impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

In September there has been growth in all of the main sectors of the economy, but at a slower rate than seen over the summer months. Output in the services sector is estimated to have increased by 1.6% compared to August, production sector output increased by 1.4%, and construction sector output increased by 2.7%.

Using the experimental monthly statistics for Quarter 3 as a whole (July to September), GDP is provisionally estimated to have increased by 14.7%, after falling by a total of 22.0% across Quarters 1 and 2 of 2020.

Background

The Monthly GDP Estimate for September is available at:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/monthly-gdp-september-2020

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/