BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 92

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

• in the period 18 September to 1 October 2023 (Wave 92), 31.5% of businesses reported experiencing a shortage of workers - rising to 44.5% in the Accommodation & Food Services industry sector, and 39.1% in the Construction industry sector
• the main concerns for businesses for October 2023 were energy prices (20.1%) and inflation of goods and services prices (13.6%). Comparing to the previous month, fewer businesses are now reporting energy prices and inflation as their main concerns
• of businesses currently trading that have exported in the last 12 months, 19.6% reported exporting less in August 2023 compared to August 2022, and 17.3% reported exporting more
• the exporting and importing challenges that were most commonly reported to have increased in August 2023 were additional paperwork and changes in transportation costs – this was the case for both exporting and importing