ECONOMIC growth in Scotland outstripped expansion in the UK as a whole in the first quarter as the dominant services sector put in a solid performance and construction output surged, official figures have revealed.
The figures, published yesterday by the Scottish Government, show that gross domestic product (GDP) north of the Border grew by 0.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the opening three months of this year.
This is equivalent to an annualised pace of 2.4 per cent – ahead of Scotland’s long-term average annual rate of growth of about two per cent.
UK GDP grew by only 0.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the opening three months of 2015, only half of the expansion rate in the final quarter of 2014.
The latest figures show the Scottish economy has grown by 0.6 per cent in three consecutive quarters.
Leading economist Jeremy Peat, visiting professor at the University of Strathclyde’s International Public Policy Institute, said of the latest Scottish GDP figures: “This is a very interesting and encouraging set of data. Overall the performance is stronger than the UK as a whole, and unlike some previous quarters the growth is not unduly reliant upon construction spend - related to the second Forth crossing and other major projects.
“Growth in Q1 2015 is well-balanced, on this first estimate, across manufacturing, services and construction. “
The figures show that the Scottish services sector grew by 0.5 per cent in the first quarter, ahead of corresponding expansion of 0.4 per cent in the UK as a whole.
Scottish manufacturing output rose by 0.2 per cent. In the UK as a whole, the manufacturing sector grew by 0.1 per cent in the first quarter.
Broader production output in Scotland was up by 0.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the opening three months of this year, boosted by a 4.6 per cent jump in electricity and gas supply. In the UK as a whole, total production output rose by 0.2 per cent in the opening three months of this year.
The construction sector north of the Border expanded by 2.1 per cent in the opening three months of this year, with its growth moderating from very sharp rates in the preceding three quarters but remaining strong. UK construction output fell by 0.2 per cent in the first quarter.
GDP in Scotland in the first quarter was up by 2.8 per cent on the same period of last year. In the UK as a whole, GDP showed a year-on-year rise of 2.9 per cent in the first quarter.
The rise in Scottish manufacturing output in the first quarter was driven by a 13.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter leap in output in the refined petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical products category. And there was a 3.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter rise in output of the transport equipment sub-sector.
However, the computer, electrical and optical products category, which takes in electronics manufacturing, suffered a 7.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter fall in output after a jump in the preceding three months.
The food, beverages and tobacco category, which includes the key Scotch whisky industry, saw output fall 1.7 per cent in the first quarter.
Within services, output in the accommodation and food services category jumped by two per cent in the first quarter.
Elsewhere within services, there was solid growth in real estate activities and professional, scientific, administrative and support services.
However, output of the financial and insurance activities category dropped by 2.2 per cent in the first quarter.
John McLaren, executive director of Fiscal Affairs Scotland, said: “Scotland’s economy continues to improve in terms of higher output and employment...
“After faltering at the end of 2014, the services sector in Scotland has returned to growth, with the hiccup in the performance of the business services sector now over.”
Scottish services sector output had fallen by 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.
However, Mr McLaren noted that the latest official figures for the Scottish construction workforce, for March, showed a fall of six per cent from a year earlier.
He added: “The boom in the construction sector over the past year has been remarkable, but is not reflected in the labour market figures.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article