Some glimmers of hope but we should brace for more bad news – latest real time indicators of the Scottish economy

The Scottish economy remains, in effect, in significant lockdown even as we edge toward the end of the second week of Phase 1 of the Scottish Government’s route-map for lifting the COVID-19 restrictions. The data shows that outdoor mobility of people has increased during Phase 1, but this has translated only into a limited improvement in economic activity. England opened parts of its economy earlier than Scotland and this has allowed economic activity to start recovering faster than in Scotland.