Business News Round Up (11/12/2023)
Scottish business activity continues to fall in November, according to latest Royal Bank of Scotland PMI
The latest Royal Bank of Scotland PMI® signalled a solid reduction in Scottish private sector activity in November. At 47.1, up from 46.5 in October, the Scotland Business Activity Index posted below the crucial 50.0 mark for the third month running. The decline in private sector activity reflected a sharp and accelerated fall in manufacturing output and a weaker reduction in services activity. The downturn in output was propelled by a stronger reduction in new orders, as underlying demand conditions worsened. Nonetheless, firms continued to increase their workforce numbers in November and at the strongest pace in six months. This in turn led firms to further reduce their backlogs. Inflows of new business fell solidly across Scotland in November, thereby extending the current run of decrease to five months. The rate of contraction quickened from October to the strongest in the aforementioned sequence.
North West sees year on year increase in ‘green job’ vacancies
The number of ‘green jobs’ has grown across the North West over the past year. The region has seen the number of green jobs as a proportion of all job adverts increase year on year from 2.3% to 2.54%, according to PwC’s latest Green Jobs Barometer. New data shows the region remained in third place for the second year running, with only the South West (2.67%) and Scotland (4.04%) performing better. The most successful sectors for green jobs in the North West include the financial and insurance activities sector, which saw a 32.9% increase in the number of green jobs advertised. Across the region, the North West performed better than Yorkshire and the Humber (2.07%) and the North East (1.93%).
Whisky ‘status’ drives rise in food and drink exports
Whisky continued to be a key factor in higher food and drink exports as aspirational young consumers seek out brands associated with status and success. Food and drink sales jumped from £8.3bn in 2021/22 to £9.4bn in the 12 months to July with strong demand for whisky from traditional markets in the EU – including France, Germany, Span and Poland — despite the impact of Brexit. However, sales of lower margin products such as beer suffered because of Brexit-related red tape, says business advisory firm Hazlewoods. Notable success has been achieved by UK heritage brands in whisky and gin, as international consumers drive the trend for choosing higher quality products. Drinks exports to countries outside the EU also continue to boom. The US remains the biggest export market of Scotch whisky by value.
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2023/12/whisky-status-drives-rise-in-food-and-drink-exports/
Cost of living crisis sees a return to cash
The cost of living crisis is seeing a move back to cash transactions according to the British Retail Consortium although cards still account for the vast majority of spending. The BRC said that UK retail sales rose 4.3% to £439.5bn in 2022, although this was largely due to rising prices resulting from increased costs throughout the supply chain. The number of transactions rose from 17.2bn in 2021 (47.2m per day) to 19.6bn in 2022 (53.7m per day). Average Transaction Value fell from £24.49 to £22.43, as consumers shopped around more and made more regular, but smaller, purchases. This reverses a trend seen during the pandemic, towards less frequent, bigger, shopping trips – as people tried to avoid going out as often. Cash usage grew for the first time in a decade, rising to 19% of all transactions (from 15% in 2021).