Scottish economic bulletin: July 2026

Output

Scottish economic growth was positive but subdued in the three months to April.

• Scotland’s GDP grew 0.1% in the three months to April 2026 (UK: 0.7%), unchanged from the three months to March, and up from contraction of -0.1% in the three months to February. Over the past year, Scotland’s GDP has grown by 0.9% (UK: 1.1%).^[1],[2]

• At a sector level, growth in the three months to April was driven by the services sector (0.1%) and construction sector (1.5%), which more than offset a contraction in production output (-0.2%).
• Within the services sector, there was a mixed pattern of growth across the services industries. Growth was particularly driven by Wholesale, Retail and Motor Trades (1.6%), while there was also growth in Information and Communication (2.1%) and Transport and Storage (0.2%). However, this was partly offset by declines in Accommodation and Food Services (-2.7%) and Administrative and Support Services (-2.7%), alongside falls in output in Financial and Insurance Activities (-0.4%) and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (-1.3%). Over the past year, services output has grown 1.5%.
• Construction growth in the three months to April (1.5%) continued to recover from a sharp fall in output through the turn of the year, and grew at its fastest pace since mid-2023. Over the past year, construction output has grown 0.2%.

• In contrast, the production sector contracted over the three months to April, albeit to a lesser extent than in recent months, with output falling 0.2%. The contraction continued to be driven by a fall in manufacturing output (-1.0%). Output growth in water supply and waste management (3.6%) and electricity and gas supply (0.3%) provided some offset, however over the past year, production output has fallen 1.9%.