Latest Understanding Scotland: Economy
The most recent data from the David Hume Institute and Diffley Partnership’s regular economic survey reveals a mixed picture of public opinion on the economy: while overwhelming pessimism coupled and evidence of harsh financial realities for households persists, people’s predictions for the next year appear less dire than in previous waves of data collection. Whether this is a sign of people adjusting to a new normal, or genuinely feeling things are improving, remains to be seen.
Scots are continuing to struggle to make ends meet as dissatisfaction with income levels remains high and people carry on cutting their discretionary spending levels in response to rising prices. On top of this people are being pushed into forgoing basic necessities, engaging in risky financial behaviours, and looking to change jobs or take on extra hours.
New questions for this iteration have displayed a stark financial fragility across the population, although this is not experienced equally. A significant minority of people are not confident that they could pay an emergency expense of £100 without having to borrow or take out a loan, and this number sharply increases for an emergency expense of £500. For those in the most deprived areas of Scotland, these numbers are much higher.