BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 70

This is the 55th publication of weighted Scotland estimates from the ONS’ BICS. These are experimental statistics, which means that they are still in development. All results are provisional and subject to revision.

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

• in the period 14 November to 27 November 2022 (Wave 70), 43.4% of businesses reported experiencing a shortage of workers - rising to 63.0% in the Accommodation & Food Services sector
• in Wave 70, 59.6% of businesses reported that the shortage of workers has resulted in employees working increased hours
• in Wave 70, 21.2% of applicable businesses reported that they had been affected by industrial action in October 2022
• in Wave 70, the main concerns for businesses for December 2022 were energy prices (32.1%) and inflation of goods and services prices (30.4%)
• of businesses currently trading that have exported in the last 12 months, 15.9% reported exporting less in October 2022 compared to October 2021, and 20.6% reported exporting more
• the exporting and importing challenges that were most commonly reported to have increased in October 2022 compared to September 2022 were changes in transportation costs, change in exchange rates and additional paperwork