Brexit and the Sectors of the Scottish Economy - Update

Leaving the European Union (EU) will represent the most significant change to the Scottish economy in a generation.

It will impact the way we trade and it will alter patterns of investment and the supply of workers. By no longer being tied to EU rules, future economic, social and environmental policy may look quite different. Many of the impacts are hard to assess. A great many will be relatively subtle but long-lasting.

As with any change, there will be winners and losers. The risks and opportunities could look quite different for individual sectors and companies.

Back in November 2017, we undertook analysis for the GMB Union which was – at the time – the first detailed analysis of the potential sectors of the Scottish economy that could be exposed to a changing economic relationship between the UK and the EU.

This report provides a short update of this work. It summaries the economic links between Scotland and the EU, and provides background information on the links between Scotland and the EU by sector.

This report summaries the economic links between Scotland and the EU, and provides background information on the links between Scotland and the EU by sector.

We find that nearly 144,000 jobs were linked to EU demand for Scottish exports in 2015.