Publication - Statistics
Business Insights and Conditions in Scotland (wave 145): 11 December 2025
Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) weighted Scotland data up to survey period 17 November to 30 November 2025 (Wave 145). The BICS provides statistics on how current conditions are affecting businesses in Scotland, including impact on financial performance, workforce, trade and resilience.
Key points for businesses with 10+ employees and a presence in Scotland:
- in November 2025, 32.5% of businesses reported that their staffing costs had increased over the last three months; this is down from 48.0% reported in August 2025
- an estimated 34.5% of businesses are expecting staffing costs to increase in the next three months; this is up from 28.3% when businesses were asked in August 2025
- an estimated 12.0% of businesses are using or intend to use increased homeworking as a permanent business model, rising to 55.1% of businesses in the Information & Communication sector
- improved staff wellbeing was the most common reason for businesses using or intending to use increased homeworking as a permanent business model – an estimated 84.4% of such businesses gave this as a reason
- an estimated 10.5% of businesses were impacted by US tariffs in the last month, with this share rising to 25.6% for goods exporters
Note that the next BICS Scotland publication, with data to Wave 146, is scheduled for release on Friday 19 December 2025.
Contact
For enquiries about this publication please contact:
Marina Curran
Business & Innovation Statistics
Office of the Chief Economic Adviser
email: industrystatistics@gov.scot
For general enquiries about Scottish Government statistics please contact:
Office of the Chief Statistician
email: statistics.enquiries@gov.scot