BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 93

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

• in Wave 93, 40.8% of applicable businesses reported difficulties in recruiting employees in September. The highest rate of recruitment difficulties was reported by businesses in the Accommodation & Food Services sector (41.1%)
• in Wave 93, 28.2% of businesses reported that the prices of materials, goods or services bought in September 2023 had increased compared with August 2023 – up from 20.7% in the previous month
• the industry sector with the highest proportion of businesses reporting increases in prices of materials, goods and services bought was Accommodation & Food Services (42.7%)
• in Wave 93, 24.6% of businesses reported that their turnover had decreased in September 2023 compared to the previous calendar month - rising to 38.5% of businesses in the Accommodation & Food Services industry sector and 32.2% in the Manufacturing industry sector
• overall, an estimated 21.8% of businesses reported that their turnover had increased in September 2023 compared to August 2023 – a lower share than the previous month (30.9%)
• in Wave 93, 40.6% of businesses thought their performance would increase over the next 12 months. 4.8% expected performance to decrease