Business News Round Up (31/03/2022)
COVID spending helps UK economy to grow in late 2021
Britain’s economy grew more quickly than previously thought in late 2021 but the increase was largely due to COVID-related activity in the health sector, which masked the inflation hit to household incomes and a gloomy picture for the private sector. Gross domestic product in the world’s fifth-biggest economy increased by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, when the Omicron wave of coronavirus cases mounted, official data showed on Thursday. That was stronger than a preliminary estimate of growth of 1.0% from the previous three-month period. But the largest contributors to the increase came from health and social work including more visits to doctors, a large increase in coronavirus testing and tracing and an extension of the COVID-19 vaccination programme. Paul Dales, an economist with consultancy Capital Economics, said the upward revision to GDP was not as encouraging as it looked at first glance.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-economy-grew-more-quickly-than-thought-late-2021-2022-03-31/
Outlook for growth in 2022 worsens as cost increases begin to bite
The Scottish economy is now above pre-pandemic levels after almost two years, but global uncertainties and inflation creates a difficult environment for consumers and businesses. Scotland’s growth forecast for 2022 has been revised down due to the impacts of cost increases on consumers and businesses – issues that are being exacerbated by uncertainties caused by the war in Ukraine. This is according to the latest quarterly Economic Commentary from the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde. In the Deloitte-sponsored Economic Commentary, the Institute forecasts growth of 3.5% in 2022 and 1.5% in 2023. The outlook has significantly worsened for 2022 since the last set of forecasts in December 2021. The Commentary examines all of the latest data on the global, UK and Scottish economies, including detailed analysis of the latest GDP, employment, and inflation figures. Two years on from the first lockdown the latest data shows that the Scottish economy has just recovered to pre-pandemic levels. However, this overall picture hides a disparate sectoral story, with hospitality and leisure businesses still operating significantly below pre-COVID-19 levels of output.
North West benefits from £38.5bn of Australian investment into UK
The North West will benefit from billions of pounds of new investment from Australia following a global investment summit held at 10 Downing Street this evening (March 30), and the creation of the Office for Investment. Australian investors announced a total of £28.5bn for clean energy, technology, and infrastructure projects throughout the UK. Among the raft of investments are key projects supporting North West businesses and sectors. They include £3bn from IFM Investors over five years which will help maintain existing assets, including the M6 toll and Manchester, Stansted, and East Midlands airports – all part of Manchester Airports Group – and its new net zero fund will support large-scale infrastructure energy transition projects, including in electrification, carbon capture and solar power. Also, energy, chemicals and natural resources experts Worley will expand its UK operations, supporting the energy transition and drive for net zero creating more than 1,000 highly-skilled professional jobs in the next 18 months in areas including Manchester, Humberside, Leeds, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
Scotland grew its R&D workforce 53% quicker than the UK average over past decade new analysis show
Scotland has grown its Research and development (R&D) workforce 53% quicker than the UK average in the last decade, new analysis by innovation funding specialists Catax shows. The number of R&D jobs in Scotland has climbed 128.6% over the past 10 years, with only three other regions — London, the West Midlands, and Wales — seeing stronger growth. R&D jobs are an important indicator of future economic growth, particularly when it comes to industries reliant on innovation. These roles stimulate economic activity and often lead to the creation of more skilled jobs locally. Innovation improves overall prosperity and renders areas less vulnerable to economic shocks such as inflation, currency fluctuations, recessions and rises in the cost of living. Scotland now boasts 16,000 R&D workers — up 6.7% annually, the latest ONS data for 2020 reveals. This compares favourably with the national average in the long and the short term. Across the UK, the number of R&D jobs grew 6.8% to 283,000 full-time equivalent positions in the latest year — a rise of 83.8% over the past decade.