SCOTTISH ministers were forced on to the back foot yesterday after official figures showed the economy was rising at a third of the UK rate, while unemployment rose at a higher rate than the national average.
Data on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) showed economic output increased by 0.2 per cent between July and September last year compared to a UK-wide rise of 0.6 per cent. The yearly figure saw a similar difference with growth in Scotland of 0.7 per cent to September, and a UK rise of 2.2 per cent.
Separate statistics showed Scotland’s jobless total rose by 11,000 in the three months to November, to 139,000, although it was down 12,000 over the year. The Scottish unemployment rate was 5.1 per cent, compared to the UK’s 4.8 per cent figure. The number of people in employment in Scotland fell by 14,000 over the three months to November to stand at 2,604,000.
Although the UK and Scotland saw similar levels of growth in 2013 and 2014, the Scottish GDP figures revealed “the UK has seen stronger growth than Scotland in 2015 and 2016”.
GDP growth in Scotland between April and June 2016, which had previously been reported as 0.4 per cent, was also revised down in the bulletin to 0.2 per cent.
The service sector, which accounts for about three-quarters of Scotland’s economy, grew by 0.4 per cent between July and September, but the production sector fell by 0.1 per cent and construction by 1.4 per cent.
Liz Cameron, chief executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, urged Holyrood ministers to do more to help make businesses in Scotland more competitive than their UK counterparts.
She said: “It is very disappointing that Scotland’s economic growth slowed in the third quarter of 2016 and continues to trail the UK as a whole, where growth remained steady during the same period.”
Scottish Secretary David Mundell also urged SNP ministers to use their devolved powers to “secure and strengthen Scotland’s economy”.
However, Economy Secretary Keith Brown said the figures showed “continued overall growth” for Scotland’s economy in the months after the Brexit vote.
He added: “There is no doubt that businesses have faced increased economic uncertainty in the months following the EU referendum result, and Scotland is not immune to these risks.
“Output in the construction sector is still 13 per cent higher than it was in quarter three 2014, leaving us in a relatively strong position, and the Scottish Government has set out a programme of investment in infrastructure, including fast-tracking £100 million of public spending.”
Scotland’s employment rate fell half a percentage point over the quarter to 73.4 per cent.
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