Economic growth in Scotland is still well below the level it was before the coronavirus pandemic, despite new data showing GDP has increased for the fifth month in a row.
Provisional figures from the Scottish Government showed GDP is estimated to have risen by 1.6% in September.
While this is a fifth consecutive month of growth, the increase is smaller than those recorded in the summer.
Economic output is still 7.6% below the level recorded in February, the month before the economic impact of coronavirus was felt when Scotland went into lockdown.
The economy hit its lowest point in April, when GDP was estimated to have fallen by almost a quarter (23.8%) over just two months.
This compares with a drop of just 4% experienced over 18 months when the financial crisis sparked a recession in 2008 and 2009.
After falling in March and April, GDP started to rise again, with some businesses that had been shut down able to open up again over the summer – with growth peaking at 6.9% in July.
The latest figures, for September, showed that growth continued, albeit at a lower rate.
GDP is now estimated to have risen by 14.7% over the period July to September, after falling by 3.2% and then 19.4% in the first and second quarters of this year respectively.
Meanwhile, the latest quarterly figures showed economic growth across all the main sectors of the economy.
Output in the construction sector was estimated to have increased by 58%, while there were rises of 14.7% in the production sector, 12.7% for services and 3.1% for agriculture, forestry and fishing.
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