PRESS RELEASE : Scottish Secretary Alister Jack responds to February 2023 GDP [April 2023]

The press release issued by the Scottish Office on 26 April 2023.

Signs of growth are encouraging, says Secretary of State, while focus remains on halving inflation and reducing debt.

The Scottish GDP figures for February 2023 have been published today here.

The economy grew by 0.2% during the second month of this year, after growing by 0.7% in January (revised down from 0.9%). In the three months to February, GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.4%, compared to the previous three month period.

Responding to the statistics, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said:

It’s encouraging to see further growth in the economy. The economic outlook is looking brighter than expected and, due to the swift action of this Government, we are set to avoid recession .

We are focussed on halving inflation, reducing debt and growing the economy. That includes the UK Government investing more than £2.2bn across Scotland to create jobs and opportunities, and boost trade and investment.

Additional information:

• Scotland’s onshore GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.2% in February.  This follows a growth of 0.7% in January (revised down from 0.9%) and a fall of 0.5% in December (revised up from 0.8%).  Monthly GDP is now 1.3% above the pre-pandemic level in February 2020
• In 2022 Q4, Scotland’s onshore GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.2% compared to the previous quarter (revised up from the first estimate of 0.1% published on 1 March)
• In 2022, annual GDP grew by 4.9% compared to 2021, after growing 8.4% in 2021 and falling by 12.2% in the early stages of the pandemic.
• The UK avoided recession in 2022, and is now expected to avoid recession this year.
• The UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year. Since 2010, the UK has grown faster than Japan, France, and Italy, and at about the same rate as Germany.
• The IMF is predicting that around 90% of advanced economies will see a decline in growth in 2023.
• At Autumn Statement 2022, the government took difficult, but necessary, decisions across taxation and spending to restore economic stability.
• The OBR have said that the measures in the Budget caused them to revise potential output upwards by the largest amount ever in their forecasts.