BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 95

Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) weighted Scotland estimates containing data to wave 95.


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

  • in Wave 95, 35.1% of applicable businesses reported difficulties in recruiting employees in October – the lowest rate since the time series began in March 2022
  • the highest rates of recruitment difficulties were reported by businesses in the Construction (41.9%) and Information & Communication industry sectors (40.7%)
  • in Wave 95, 21.9% of businesses reported that the prices of materials, goods or services bought in October 2023 had increased compared with September 2023 – down from 28.2% in the previous month
  • the industry sector with the highest proportion of businesses reporting increases in prices of materials, goods and services bought was Accommodation & Food Services (37.1%)
  • in Wave 95, 23.9% of businesses reported that their turnover had decreased in October 2023 compared to the previous calendar month - rising to 36.9% of businesses in the Accommodation & Food Services industry sector
  • overall, an estimated 17.2% of businesses reported that their turnover had increased in October 2023 compared to September 2023 – a lower share than the previous month (21.8%)
  • in Wave 95, 40.3% of businesses thought their performance would increase over the next 12 months. 7.0% expected performance to decrease
  • the main concerns for businesses for December 2023 were energy prices (16.1%), falling demand (15.6%) and inflation of goods and services prices (9.2%).  An estimated 20.2% of businesses reported having no concerns- the highest rate in the series that goes back to February 2022

Contact

For enquiries about this publication please contact:

Marina Curran

Business & Innovation Statistics

Office of the Chief Economic Adviser

e-mail: industrystatistics@gov.scot
 

For general enquiries about Scottish Government statistics please contact:

Office of the Chief Statistician

e-mail: statistics.enquiries@gov.scot

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