Scotland’s economy has seen a growth of 0.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, bouncing back from a contraction at the end of 2023.
Deputy First Minister and Economy Secretary Kate Forbes hailed the return to growth “despite the challenging global economic conditions we continue to face”.
Her remarks followed the latest data from the Scottish Government indicating that Scotland had slightly outpaced the UK in terms of economic growth from January to March.
Scotland’s GDP grew by 0.7 percent during this period, rebounding from a 0.5 percent drop between October and December 2023.
Meanwhile, the UK’s GDP saw a 0.6 percent increase in the first quarter of 2024, after a 0.3 percent decline in the final three months of the previous year.
The Scottish data revealed that while the construction sector’s output dipped by 0.9% in the recent quarter, there was a 0.5 percent growth in the services sector which constitutes the bulk of the country’s economy. Furthermore, the production sector expanded by 2.1 percent.
On the whole, the economy is estimated to have grown by 0.2 percent over the past year.
Ms Forbes found it “encouraging to see growth across the majority of services, particularly the retail sector, as well as the wholesale and motor trades, and health and social work sectors”.
She noted that experts at the Scottish Fiscal Commission and the Fraser of Allander Institute have projected an overall growth of 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent respectively for Scotland in 2024 with this then expected to climb to 1.1 percent next year.
The Deputy First Minister stated: “The Scottish Government is investing over £5 billion through its 2024-25 budget to drive an economy that is fair, green and growing.”
