BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 97

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

• in Wave 97, 36.8% of applicable businesses reported difficulties in recruiting employees in November 2023
• the highest rates of recruitment difficulties were reported by businesses in the Manufacturing (44.4%) and Accommodation & Food Services industry sectors (43.6%)
• in Wave 97, 19.6% of businesses reported that the prices of materials, goods or services bought in November 2023 had increased compared with October 2023 – down from 21.9% 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 (37.8%)
• in Wave 97, 24.4% of businesses reported that their turnover had decreased in November 2023 compared to the previous calendar month - rising to 39.2% of businesses in the Accommodation & Food Services industry sector
• overall, an estimated 20.6% of businesses reported that their turnover had increased in November 2023 compared to October 2023 – a higher share than the previous month (17.2%)
• in Wave 97, 37.7% of businesses thought their performance would increase over the next 12 months. 7.6% expected performance to decrease
• the main concerns for businesses for January 2024 were inflation of goods and services prices (16.6%), falling demand (16.3%) and energy prices (14.6%).  An estimated 12.2% of businesses reported having no concerns

Note that BICS Scotland data for Wave 98 and Wave 99 are scheduled for release on Friday 19th of January 2024.