Mon, 11 Jun 2012

After rising at the fastest rate for 57 months in April, employment at private sector companies operating in Scotland was unchanged during May.

This is according to the latest Bank of Scotland Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which shows that a solid increase in headcounts at manufacturers North of the border was offset by a slight decrease in staffing numbers within the tertiary sector.

This stagnation in employment levels across Scotland ended a six-month period of net job creation and contrasted with a further modest increase across the UK as a whole.

Donald MacRae, chief economist at Bank of Scotland, says: “Weakness in the domestic economy is being offset by export demand but it is insufficient to generate a more robust recovery. The Scottish economy is struggling to maintain growth momentum in the face of the global slowdown.”