Scotland’s private sector is “moving up a gear” with output in July rising at the fastest pace in almost three years, according to a new report.
Businesses put the growth down to stronger expansions in both the services and manufacturing sectors.
The findings are contained in the Bank of Scotland’s regional purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for July.
The index, which produces a single-figure measure of the month-on-month change in combined manufacturing and services output, rose from 51.1 in June to 53.8 in July – the highest since October 2014.
Fraser Sime, regional director of Bank of Scotland commercial banking said: “This good news was fuelled by the service sector returning to meaningful growth, alongside a faster increase in manufacturing output.”
Job creation remained positive for the second month running, he added.
