BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 124

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

• in January 2025, an estimated 24.4% of businesses were experiencing a shortage of workers
• the Administrative & Support Service Activities sector had the highest share of businesses experiencing a shortage of workers (42.7%), followed by the Transportation & Storage (34.1%) and Construction (31.7%) sectors
• the main concerns for businesses for February 2025 were falling demand of goods and services (16.7%) and taxation (15.4%); an estimated 18.4% of businesses had no concerns
• for an estimated 18.5% of businesses, the prices of materials, goods or services bought in December 2024 had increased compared with November 2024
• an estimated 25.5% of businesses were expecting to increase the prices of goods or services sold in February 2025
• between November and December 2024 turnover decreased for an estimated 33.5% of businesses, whereas for 23.7% of businesses turnover had increased
• in January 2025, an estimated 33.0% of businesses expected their business performance to increase over the next 12 months; 14.0% expected it to decrease, the highest share since December 2022

Note that the next BICS Scotland publication, with data to Wave 125, is scheduled for release on Thursday 13 February 2025.