Scottish economic bulletin: November 2025

Output

The Scottish economy grew 0.7% in the 3-months to August and 1.2% over the year.

• Scotland's economic output grew by 0.7% in the three months to August (UK: 0.3%), strengthening from growth of 0.6% in the three months to July and 0.2% in the 3-months to June. Despite the recent pick-up, there are indications that growth in the third quarter remains weak overall, with the economy contracting in the months of July and August.^[1]
• The pattern of growth to date in 2025 means that in the three months to August, the level of economic output has grown 1.0% from the final quarter of 2024 and 1.2% over the past year.^[2]

• Growth in the three months to August was driven by the Services (0.9%) and Construction (0.3%) sectors, which was partially offset by a fall in Production output (-0.3%).
• In the Services sector, there was further strong growth in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (5.8%) and Hospitality (accommodation and food services) (3.1%). However there was a fall in Retail Services output (-0.1%) and Consumer Facing Services output more broadly (‑0.3%). On an annual basis, Services output grew 2.1%, in the 3-months to August.
• The pace of growth in the Construction sector continued to ease over the 3-month period, however remained positive overall and stronger than at the turn of the year. On an annual basis, Construction output grew 1.0% in the 3-months to August.
• Output in the Production sector continued to fall in the 3-months to August, continuing a trend from the first quarter of the year. Most recently, this was driven by further output falls in Manufacturing (-0.6%) and Mining and Quarrying (-1.2%) which offset growth in Electricity and Gas Supply (0.3%) and Water Supply and Waste Management (1.4%).
• On an annual basis, Production output fell 3.0%, and within that, Manufacturing output fell 5.6%.