Small business confidence plummets to 3 year low
Scottish small business confidence has fallen to its lowest level in three years amid fears the oil industry crisis has filtered down to local suppliers, according to an industry body.
The Federation of Small Business's (FSB)quarterly confidence index for the last three months of 2015 found business confidence to be just 0.3 points.
This is down from 4.6 points at the same time last year and markedly below the UK figure, which stands at 21.7 points.
FSB officials fear the fall and widening gulf with the UK may be due, in part, to the decline in the oil and gas industry.
Despite the drop in confidence, 15% of Scottish small firms reported that revenues rose in the last three months of 2015.
However, just 3% of businesses in Scotland expect to see their profits rise in the first quarter of this year and about a fifth (19%) plan to increase investment in the year ahead.
This compares to a quarter of businesses a year ago and about three in ten at the start of 2014.
FSB Scottish policy convenor Andy Willox said: The creeping gap between Scottish small business confidence and the UK average is a cause for concern.
Many analysts have highlighted the impact of the falling price of crude on Scotland's oil and gas industry.
As you might expect, this decline looks to be having an impact on the local economies dependent upon this trade.
Our researchers also suggest that pressure on public-sector budgets may be flowing through to private-sector confidence.
Firms face a lorry load of regulatory changes in 2016 - such as new pension requirements and the changes to the minimum wage.
Many members tell us that they've revisited their business plans as a consequence of these changes.
Decision-makers in Edinburgh and London need to be sensitive to the cumulative impact of challenges that small businesses now face.
In the long-term, our objective must be to create resilient Scottish local communities whose strength comes from economic diversity.''
Last week, official statistics revealed the Scottish economy grew 0.1% for the period July to September 2015, compared to 0.4% across the UK.