BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 104

Latest main findings for businesses with 10+ employees and a presence in Scotland

• in Wave 104, 22.4% of applicable businesses reported difficulties in recruiting employees in February 2024 - down from 24.5% in Wave 102 and the lowest percentage reported since the question was introduced in April 2022
• in Wave 104, the highest rates of recruitment difficulties were reported by businesses in the Construction (39.2%) and Manufacturing (31.1%) sectors
• in Wave 104, 24.0% of businesses reported that the prices of materials, goods or services bought in February 2024 had increased compared with January 2024
• in Wave 104, the industry sector with the highest proportion of businesses reporting increases in the prices of materials, goods and services bought was Accommodation & Food Services (36.0%)
• in Wave 104, 30.5% of businesses reported that their turnover had increased in February 2024 compared to the previous calendar month - rising to 43.8% of businesses in Construction
• overall, an estimated 15.1% of businesses reported that their turnover had decreased in February 2024 compared to the previous calendar month
• in Wave 104, 37.3% of businesses thought their performance would increase over the next 12 months. 5.6% expected performance to decrease
• the main concerns for businesses for April 2024 were falling demand of goods and services (12.5%), energy prices (12.2%) and inflation (10.5%). An estimated 17.3% of businesses reported having no concerns

Note that the BICS Scotland data for Wave 105 and Wave 106 are scheduled for release on Friday 26th of April 2024.