This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Smart, Successful Scotland
20/12/2006
Scotland is making progress in raising economic output per head and in increasing the proportion of working age people in employment, a report published today has found.
Measuring Progress Towards a Smart, Successful Scotland finds that Scotland performs well against international and UK benchmarks in the majority of 40 key economic indicators.
Continued progress is being made against the three themes of the enterprise strategy, in particular Skills and Learning and Global Connections.
Enterprise Minister Nicol Stephen said:
"The Scottish economy is performing well. As today's report shows we are ticking most of the boxes.
"Economic output per head is well ahead of the OECD average, and ahead of Japan, Germany and France. Employment is at historically high levels, with a rate higher than the rest of the UK.
"But there is always room for improvement. Our business start-up rate is not as good as I would like it to be. Not enough is being invested in research and development despite our world class universities. And the number of young people not in education, employment and training (NEET) is unacceptably high.
"But we are committed to tackling these issues and creating the right conditions for future economic growth. I believe we have the right strategies across the Executive to ensure Scotland's economy remains on the right path."
Measuring Progress Towards a Smart, Successful Scotland is an annual publication which considers the Executive's progress towards achieving the ambitions for the Scottish economy identified in the Executive's enterprise strategy.
It was produced independently by Experian Business Strategies, who were commissioned by a Joint Performance Team, comprising senior officials from the Executive, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands & Islands Enterprise.