Quarterly National Accounts produce revised GDP figures for Scotland

The latest Quarterly National Accounts for Scotland have brought welcome news, with Scotland’s GDP revised to higher levels from the initial estimate provided in June 2018.

The revised figure suggest that Scotland’s GDP has outpaced the UK for the first quarter of 2018, with the growth rate increasing to 0.4 per cent on the quarter, relative to the UK rate of 0.2 per cent.

On an annual basis, Scotland’s growth rate is just above the UK’s, at 1.3 per cent compared to 1.2 per cent.

This was mainly driven by an increase in output across the services and production sectors, with construction continuing to observe a drop in output, put at 1.4 per cent in this estimate.

Economy and Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said: “It is hugely encouraging to see the Scottish economy grow by 0.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, meaning that over the year since 2017 Quarter 1, the Scottish economy has grown by 1.3 per cent.

“Figures for the first quarter of 2018 also show that manufactured exports, which make up around half of the total value of exports from Scotland to the rest of the world, have grown by 3.6% reflecting the strength of international exports to the future of the Scottish Economy.

“The Scottish Government will continue to focus on growing Scotland’s economy. We are investing a record £2.4 billion in enterprise and skills, £4 billion in infrastructure and delivering the most competitive package of rates relief in the UK, including the Small Business Bonus, which to date has saved Scottish firms almost £1.5 billion.

“We will continue to urge the UK Government to commit to remaining in EU single market and customs union to protect jobs and investment and remove unnecessary uncertainty which could harm Scotland’s economic prosperity.”

Liz Cameron, chief Executive, Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: “Positively, despite some of the challenges for manufacturers that we’ve seen highlighted in today’s inflation statistics, the Index of Manufactured Exports contained in the QNAS showcases an increase of 8.7 per cent in the volume of manufactured exports on an annual basis, alongside quarterly growth. Quarterly growth was mainly driven by increases in exports of food and drink and engineering products.

“This is great news for Scotland, but concerns remain that the construction industry continues to experience falls in output, with GDP also remaining below historical growth trends. The upcoming Programme for Government presents a critical opportunity for the Scottish Government to invest in our national infrastructure, in order to jumpstart our construction sector and provide the foundation for increased growth rates for the entire economy. We look forward to the Scottish Government presenting an ambitious programme, in partnership with the private sector, to boost Scotland’s growth.”