Scotland’s economy continues to grow

Scotland’s economy has remained resilient going into the second half of 2017 despite a challenging economic environment and continued Brexit uncertainty, the Economy Secretary has said.

According to the latest GDP statistics published by the Scottish Government today, the Scottish economy grew by 0.2% in the third quarter of 2017, and has increased by a total of 0.8% since the start of the year.

In the latest quarter, Services grew by 0.2% and Production grew by 1.2% after a return to growth for both manufacturing, mining and quarrying.

Economy Secretary Keith Brown said:

“Despite the impact that continued Brexit uncertainty is having on our economy, today’s figures demonstrate the resilience of the Scottish Economy with the third consecutive quarter of positive growth.

“Although more modest than we would like, it is encouraging to see the economy grow by 0.2% overall. Within this, it’s particularly heartening to see Services continue to expand, and Production up by 1.2%, with a return to growth for manufacturing.  While these figures show a fall in construction output, this is as a result of activity returning to more normal levels following our increased investment in large transport infrastructure developments over recent years, including the Forth Replacement Crossing, M8 missing link and the Borders Railway.

“Our determination to seize opportunity and grow our economy is demonstrated by the £270 million increase on economic spending we announced in the 2018/19 Draft Budget. However it cannot be stressed enough that the single biggest threat to our economy as a whole remains the lack of clarity from the UK Government over Brexit. This week the Scottish Government published analysis which showed that failure to remain in the Single Market or secure a free trade agreement would see Scotland’s GDP around £12.7 billion lower by 2030 than it would be under continued EU membership.

“I would once again call on the UK Government to give people and businesses greater certainty over the Brexit process in order to further stimulate growth in Scotland’s business communities and allow us to continue to attract and retain talent within our workforce.”

View Scotland's Gross Domestic Product 3rd Quarter 2017