Scottish economy will not return to growth until 2024, experts warn

But the EY Item Club Scotland forecast said interest rates could be cut later this year, providing a boost.

A report said Scotland’s economy is not forecast to return to growth until 2024 (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Challenging economic conditions could “stretch into the summer of 2023”, experts have warned, with a new report stating Scotland will only return to growth next year.

Projections suggest gross value added (GVA) – a measure of the value of goods and services produced – will fall by 0.6% during 2023, with this decline largely concentrated in the first six months.

The latest EY Item Club Scotland forecast said cost-of-living pressures, coupled with shrinking real incomes, would mean sectors such as retail and housebuilding would be amongst those “most at risk”.