Scottish growth pulls ahead of the UK as Q2 sees economy grow by 0.5 per cent

The Scottish economy grew by 0.5 per cent during the second quarter of 2018, according to statistics announced today by Scotland’s Chief Statistician.

The data means that in the first half of this year, Scottish GDP grew by 0.8 per cent compared to 0.6 per cent in the UK. The growth in the first six months of 2018 is greater than the 0.7 per cent growth forecast made by Scottish Fiscal Commission for 2018 as a whole.

The first estimate of Scotland’s GDP statistics, covering the period April to June 2018, show that the economy grew by 0.5 per cent in real terms compared to the previous quarter. Over the year compared to the second quarter of 2017, the Scottish economy has grown by 1.7 per cent.

Scotland’s strong growth has been supported by the Production sector which grew by 4.6 per cent over the past 12 months, the sector’s fastest rate of growth since 2014.

During the first quarter of 2018 output in the Services sector grew by 0.4 per cent, output in Production grew by 0.6 per cent and output in the Construction sector grew by 1.8 per cent.

This is the first quarter for which a first and second estimate of Scotland’s GDP will be published and is the quickest that Scottish GDP has ever been published. The second estimate of Scotland’s GDP will be available in Quarterly National Accounts Scotland, published on 31 October 2018.

Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work, Derek Mackay, said: “These are welcome figures which show that Scottish growth is both pulling ahead of the UK, and outperforming the official growth forecast.

“The Scottish Government is focused on building on the country’s strong economic foundations, supporting businesses to stimulate growth jobs and investment. Our Programme for Government includes an ambitious package of measures to ensure we are delivering for the economy of today and ready to seize the opportunities of the future.

“With an unemployment rate of 4.1% and a higher employment rate for women and young people compared to the UK, confidence remains high in our labour market. The Royal Bank of Scotland PMI for August also shows private sector output at a four year high.

“However these statistics simply reinforce the urgent need to avoid the looming damage of Brexit, which threatens to undo much of the positive work we are doing to strengthen our economy.”