Monthly GDP Estimates For June - 17.6% below the level in February

19th August 2020

Scotland's GDP increased by 5.7% in June, according to statistics announced today by the Chief Statistician. The growth in the latest month follows an increase of 2.3% in May, and falls of 19.2% in April and 5.8% in March.

Although output has increased for the last two months, it remains 17.6% below the level in February, prior to the direct impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In June there has been a wider pickup in activity than in May, with output increasing in all the main industry sectors, and in most of the sub-sectors within these.

For Quarter 2 as a whole (April to June), GDP is provisionally estimated to have fallen by 19.7% compared to Quarter 1 (January to March), after a fall of 2.5% in Quarter 1. Across the two quarters of contraction, output is estimated to have fallen by a total of 21.7% compared to 2019 Quarter 4.

This is the third release of new monthly GDP statistics for Scotland, and the first to include a provisional estimate for the whole quarter. These statistics have been produced by the Scottish Government to help track the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and are badged as experimental statistics (not national statistics) which means they are still in development.