Scotland suffering from consumer confidence issues
The Scottish Retail Consortium has today reported a 1.4% reduction in Scottish retail sales in the month of July compared to the same period last year. This compares unfavourably to a report on the UK as a whole which showed a like for like increase in retail sales in July of 0.5%. So why is Scotland suffering more than any other retail market in the UK?
Due to the size of the Scottish economy it would appear that the Scottish workforce is overly dependent upon the public sector which will see significant job cuts in the short to medium term. As a consequence it looks as though Scottish retailers will be suffering falling sales for the foreseeable future as consumers become more and more concerned about their short-term employment opportunities. This will be a very tricky situation for the SNP as we approach the next Scottish election because ultimately they will find it very difficult to maintain employment levels against such a horrific UK economic backdrop.
This is almost certain to reignite the ongoing battle between the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament regarding funding for Scotland, oil and the public sector. However, as with every other department in the UK government there is no doubt that the Scottish budget will be slashed in the short to medium term and public sector services will be the first casualty.
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