Scottish economy grows 0.8%

The Scottish economy grew by 0.8% during the first quarter of 2017, according to statistics announced today by Scotland’s Chief Statistician.

Change in gross domestic product (GDP) is the main indicator of economic growth in Scotland. The latest Gross Domestic Product release, covering the period January to March 2017, shows the economy grew by 0.8% compared to the previous three months. On an annual basis, compared to the first quarter of 2016, the Scottish economy grew by 0.7%

During the first quarter of 2017 output in the services industry in Scotland grew by 0.3%, production grew by 3.1% and construction contracted by 0.7%.

Industries which represent a large proportion of the economy or which have big quarterly changes have the most impact on overall GDP. The industry which had the greatest contribution to change in the Scottish economy in the first quarter of 2017 is Production (which accounted for 0.6 percentage points of total growth).

Scotland’s GDP statistics are seasonally adjusted, so regular patterns such as the increase in retail leading up to Christmas are taken into account and don't affect the final figures.

Background

The full statistical publication, tables and results of the survey of users of Scottish GDP data is available at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/PubGDP/GDP2017Q1/DOCS

A visual summary of the key findings from this publication is available at:

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/PubGDP/GDP2017Q1/DOCS

All data in this bulletin have been adjusted to allow for meaningful comparisons over time. Estimates are seasonally adjusted and have had the effect of price changes removed.

This publication presents results for what is commonly referred to as the “onshore economy”, which means they exclude oil and gas extraction activity in the North Sea.

Further information on Scottish economic statistics can be accessed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/

These estimates are compiled in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics – more information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland can be accessed at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/About