According to the data, office output is now above the pre-pandemic level of February 2020 by 0.8%.

Output in the services sector, which accounts for around three-quarters of the economy, increased by 0.9% in January. At the broad level, output in consumer facing services increased by 3.6% in January, while health, education and public services output increased by 0.8%, and output in all other services increased by 0.1%.

Output in the production sector, which accounts for around 16% of the economy, increased by 1.8% in January. Output increased in two of the four subsectors, including an increase of 3.8% in manufacturing.

Similarly, output in the construction sector, which accounts for around 6% of the economy is estimated to have grown by 1.1% in January.
In the three months to January, GDP is estimated to have grown by 1.3% compared to the previous three month period. This indicates a continuation of stable growth in the quarter to far, relative to the increase of 1.3% in 2021 Quarter 4 (October to December).

Economy secretary Kate Forbes, commented: “The broad-based growth of 1.1% in January shows the strength and resilience of Scotland’s businesses and our wider economy, driven by increasing output in manufacturing, health and consumer-facing services as we continue to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

“While we know our recovery remains fragile and our economy continues to face challenges from Brexit, the rising cost of living and the impacts of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Scottish Government is firmly focused on supporting our economy to recover. Since the start of the pandemic, businesses have benefited from more than £4.5 billion of support, including around £1.6 billion in rates relief – which is more generous than the other UK administrations so far.

“The newly published National Strategy for Economic Transformation will be fundamental to building on the progress we have made – its five actions will shift the dial on the economy and support our transition to becoming greener, fairer and more prosperous.”