Scotland’s economy is believed to have contracted by 0.3 percent in February, according to figures from the Scottish Government. The latest report revealed that onshore GDP had shrunk in the second month of 2024, despite a growth of 0.6 percent in January.

The new data comes as GDP statistics for the last quarter of 2023 were revised, with the economy now reported to have declined by 0.5 percent over this period a slight improvement on the previous estimate of a 0.6 percent fall. The Scottish Government stated in its report: “Although monthly GDP has fluctuated recently, the trend in underlying quarterly GDP has been broadly flat since the end of 2021.”

The most recent figures indicate that GDP only increased by 0.1 percent throughout 2023, a downgrade from an initial estimate of a 0.2 percent growth.

However, in the three months leading up to February, GDP was estimated to have grown by 0.4% compared to the previous three-month period. This was seen as an improvement following the 0.5 percent drop in GDP in the final quarter of 2023.

Wellbeing Economy Secretary Mairi McAllan acknowledged the “challenging global economic conditions we continue to face” but emphasised that the “overall outlook is of strengthening growth in Scotland’s economy”.

Ms McAllan revealed, “The three months to February saw growth of 0.4 percent. Looking ahead, the Scottish Fiscal Commission forecast economic growth to strengthen moderately across 2024 and 2025.”

She also noted, “The latest indicators provide an encouraging start to the year with more new businesses, stronger business activity and ongoing resilience in the labour market.”

In addition, she shared, “The Scottish Government is investing over £5 billion through its 2024-25 budget to drive an economy that is fair, green and growing.”

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has also weighed in on the matter saying: “Long-term sustainable growth remains our goal, and with inflation expected to fall to our two percent target soon, we’re on track to achieve that. We must stick to our plan.”

He further bragged, “Just this week, 2.4 million Scottish workers saw the benefit of the second 2p National Insurance cut, meaning a saving of £833 a year for the average worker. That’s on top of the biggest ever increase to the national living wage.”

Then he concluded, “The UK Government is now investing more than £3 billion direct into communities across the whole of Scotland, boosting trade and encouraging opportunity throughout the UK.”