BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 76

This is the 60th 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 Wave 76, 44.9% of applicable businesses reported difficulties in recruiting employees in January. The highest rates of recruitment difficulties were reported by businesses in the Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (52.9%) and Accommodation & Food Services (52.0%) industry sectors
• in Wave 76, 35.1% of businesses reported that the prices of materials, goods or services bought in January 2023 had increased compared with December 2022, a decrease on the previous month (45.4%)
• the industry sectors with the highest proportion of businesses reporting increases in prices of materials, goods and services bought were Accommodation & Food Services (49.9%) and Wholesale, Retail & Repair of Vehicles (47.2%)
• in Wave 76, over half (51.1%) of applicable businesses reported that they had been affected by the recent increase in energy prices in some way
• around one fifth (20.8%) of businesses reported that their turnover had increased in January 2023 compared to the previous calendar month. Whereas 33.4% of businesses reported that their turnover had decreased over this period – rising to 60.2% of businesses in the Accommodation & Food Services industry sector