BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 115

Latest main findings for businesses with 10+ employees and a presence in Scotland

• in Wave 115 (19 August to 1 September 2024), 16.7% of businesses reported difficulties recruiting ‘Skilled, Manual or Technical’ employees in July 2024; however 51.3% of businesses reported that they had not experienced any difficulties in recruiting employees
• 46.9% of businesses with recruitment difficulties reported that this was due to a lack of qualified applicants for the roles on offer
• 25.2% of businesses reported that a shortage of workers has resulted in employees working increased hours; however more than half of businesses (54.0%) reported that they had not experienced any challenges due to a shortage of workers
• the share of businesses that were using or intended to use increased homeworking as a permanent business model was highest in the Information & Communication (52.6%) and Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (35.5%) sectors
• improved staff wellbeing was the most commonly reported reason for using increased homeworking as a permanent businesses model going forward - this was reported by 76.7% of relevant businesses
• homeworking not being suitable for the business was the most commonly reported reason for not using increased homeworking as a permanent businesses model going forward - this was reported by 83.5% of relevant businesses

Note that the BICS Scotland data for Wave 116 are scheduled for release on Thursday 26th of September 2024.