Job creation in Scotland’s manufacturing and services sector slowed in April, according to the latest data from the Bank of Scotland.

The data reveals the employment index fell from 51.6 in March to 50.4 in April.

However, the Bank of Scotland PMI – a seasonally adjusted index monitoring activity across Scotland’s manufacturing and service industries – rose from 54.4 in March to 55.8.

Donald MacRae, chief economist at Bank of Scotland, says: “The latest PMI shows that the recovery is back on track with a fourth consecutive month of expansion. The latest PMI data also continued to highlight marked growth in new orders.

“It is particularly pleasing to see broad-based growth across both the services and manufacturing sectors. All three service sub-sectors experienced growth, with the strongest rise recorded in financial services, followed by business services.”