BICS weighted Scotland estimates: 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