By Ian McConnell
SCOTTISH economic output is projected to drop 7% this year amid the coronavirus crisis, a less-sharp fall than the 8.3% plunge forecast UK-wide, in a report by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
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The ICAEW, in the report produced with Oxford Economics, projects Scottish gross domestic product will rebound by 6.5% in 2021, as UK output rises 7.8%.
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The report says, in spite of a “strong rebound” in output in 2021, the number of jobs in the Scottish economy is still likely to be slightly lower in that year than in 2019, at 2.79 million compared with 2.82 million. It notes: “Scotland has a similar industrial structure to the UK but does rely more heavily on the hospitality sector, which has suffered badly...It does score better on many other metrics.”
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