Scotland Posts Q3 GDP Growth And Lagging Performance Behind UK As Brexit Continuously Affects The Nation
The Scottish Government has released its Gross Domestic Product data for the third quarter of 2016. The GDP rose by 0.2% for the July to September quarter; however, the data exhibits weaker growth compared with the growth of the United Kingdom by 0.6% as a whole.If compared with the results from the 2015 period, Scotland only grew by 0.7%, while UK as a whole rose 2.2%.
The services sector, which accounts for a third of the nation’s economy, rose by 0.4%, while the Business Services and Finance experienced a growth of 0.8%. Meanwhile, other sectors in the government saw declining statistics, with the production sector falling by 0.1%, and the construction sector contracted by 1.4%.
The youth unemployment rate declined by 9.4%, shedding almost 3.6% from last year’s report. Despite experiencing a growth of 0.4% from the previous quarter, the overall unemployment rate of Scotland was still down 5.1%, losing 0.4% over the year based on data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and fair Work, Keith Brown has stated in the GDP release that Scotland is doing its best in protecting the country’s interest, which includes retaining access to the European Union single market even after Brexit.
“There is no doubt that businesses have faced increased economic uncertainty in the months following the EU referendum result, and Scotland is not immune to these risks,” Brown said.
Brown also mentioned Scotland government’s investment programme for infrastructure, with a public spending of £100 million in order to continuously support the growing construction sector.
Effects of Brexit on Scotland
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has mentioned that the nation’s economy was greatly affected by the UK’s decision to leave the single market of the European Union. With a likely hard Brexit route for the entire UK, Sturgeon expressed that there is a huge possibility of a second Scottish Independence referendum.
The first Scottish independence referendum took place last September 2014, but 55.3% of the country’s voting community was against the motion.
“The UK Government cannot be allowed to take us out of the EU and the single market, regardless of the impact on our economy, jobs, living standards and our reputation as an open, tolerant country, without Scotland having the ability to choose between that and a different future,” Sturgeon stated after UK Prime Minister Theresa May gave her Brexit outline plans on Tuesday.
Sturgeon believes that Scotland should be given a choice to decide on a different future from the one outline by the British Prime Minister. Prior to May’s speech, the Prime Minster spoke to Scotland’s First Minster, confirming the government’s decision to leave the single market.
Scotland’s Future
Even though Sturgeon expressed a possible second independence referendum, the First Minister stated that there are still several other factors to consider before plunging into a certain decision. The UK leaving the EU single market does not immediately mean that Scotland should raise an independence referendum.
According to the First Minister, Scotland’s economy, jobs, and public finance are all boosted through remaining in the UK, which is why staying in the UK is far more important for Scotland than being a part of the European Union.