Research and data in the Scottish Borders: Place

Why is it important to have statistics about our economy, business and work?

Two of the national outcomes in the Scottish Government National Performance framework state the following about Scotland as a whole, we have:

• a globally competitive, entrepreneurial, inclusive and sustainable economy
• thriving and innovative businesses with quality jobs and fair work for everyone

Scottish Borders plays its part in contributing towards the Scottish economy and ensuring that our region is the best place in Scotland to work and do business. For this, we need robust information to measure how we are performing.

Scottish Borders policy framework 

Our 2022-23 Plan is key to our policy framework on how we plan to deliver services in the next few years. It consists of six outcome priorities, which are informed by an evidence base, including the strategic assessment. Data on the economy, business and work are central to outcome priority three: "Strong inclusive economy, transport and infrastructure". You can see how we are delivering on this outcome in our quarterly and annual public performance reports. 

We are building a strong, inclusive economy, transport and infrastructure by delivering the following:

• the South Of Scotland Regional Economic Strategy
• Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal
• Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal
• Regional Prosperity Framework

We also continue to build on our achievements from our previous Plans, for example: A thriving economy with opportunities for everyone. 

Our economic and business objectives are managed by the Chief Executive's service director under several different departments, including Economic Development and Business Support.

Topic areas

There is a large amount of evidence from official statistics to inform our economic policy and business development, across a wide range of topic areas.

Business demography

• current statistics on the number of businesses by industry sector are available from the latest Scottish Borders Labour Market Profile from Nomis
• statistics on the number of business units from the Annual Business Survey are available on NOMIS, by industry sector
• numbers of "births and deaths" (business registrations and de-registrations) and rates of "survival" are available from the Scottish Government Official Statistics server
• statistics on business stocks and sites by industry sector and business size are available from the Scottish Government Official Statistics server

Business analysis and support

• we can provide business advice and support to anyone starting or growing a business in the Scottish Borders
• we can also provide business advice and support through Business Gateway

Entrepreneurial activity and innovation

• Business Enterprise Research and Development (BERD) expenditure and employment from the Scottish Government Official Statistics server for the Scottish Borders

Labour Market, jobs and employment

• employment by industry sector from the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES)
• number of jobs, employment by occupation, economic activity and economic inactivity data from the latest Scottish Borders Labour Market Profile from Nomis
• labour market indicators, employment by industry sector and occupation, and workforce size from Skills Development Scotland's October 2023 Regional Skills Assessment for South of Scotland
• data on employees and employment, and labour costs, are available from the Annual Business Survey on NOMIS, by industry sector
• the latest quarterly data by age and gender on levels of economic activity, economic inactivity and employment are available from the Scottish Official Statistics Open Data Platform
• the latest quarterly data from the Annual Population survey on full-time and part-time employment, self-employment and under-employment  by age and gender are available from the Scottish Official Statistics Open Data Platform

Physical and digital infrastructure

• the latest statistics on superfast broadband are available from the LGBF interactive Explore tool 

Productivity and resilience

• GVA, productivity and performance, annual growth and future demand from Skills Development Scotland's October 2023 Regional Skills Assessment for South of Scotland
• GVA, output and turnover from the Annual Business Survey on NOMIS, by industry sector
• the latest statistics on GVA are available from the LGBF interactive Explore tool 

Town Centres and employment land

• the 2016 Town Centre Matrix is a 2016 snapshot of how our towns are doing and is available to download
• the latest statistics on town centre vacancies and employment land are available from the LGBF interactive Explore tool 
• We also monitor the performance of our business sites, towns and villages with a range of planning research.

Tourism

• regional domestic tourism: expenditure, nights and number of visits from the Scottish Government Official Statistics server for the Scottish Borders
• the latest Scottish Borders factsheet of regional insights about tourism, in terms of visits, nights and spend, is available to download from VisitScotland
• the latest statistics on investment in economic development and tourism are available from the LGBF interactive Explore tool 

Unemployment

• claimant count/Jobseeker's Allowance statistics from Nomis
• data on unemployment, out-of-work benefits and workless households from the latest Scottish Borders Labour Market Profile
• the latest statistics on out-of-work benefits are available from the LGBF interactive Explore tool 
• recent monthly statistics on model-based unemployment estimates for the Scottish Borders are available from the Scottish Official Statistics Open Data Platform

Wages and income

• the latest statistics on residence-based and workplace-based average earnings by gender and work pattern for Scottish Borders are available from the Scottish Official Statistics Open Data Platform
• earnings by place of residence from the latest Scottish Borders Labour Market Profile from Nomis
• wages and salaries data from the Annual Business Survey on NOMIS, by industry sector
• the latest statistics on the Real Living Wage are available from the LGBF interactive Explore tool 

Workforce skills and qualifications

• workforce qualifications statistics are available in the latest Scottish Borders Labour Market Profile from Nomis
• the latest statistics on adults (16-64) with low or no qualifications are available from the Scottish Official Statistics Open Data Platform

Workplace equalities and workers' rights issues

• the latest quarterly data from the Annual Population survey on the percentage gender employment gap by age band are available from the Scottish Official Statistics Open Data Platform
• the latest statistics from workplace-based earnings data on the proportion of employees earning less than the living wage are available from the Scottish Official Statistics Open Data Platform

Official statistics and in-house research are available on these topics for the Scottish Borders, sometimes with a breakdown at local level. If you study or volunteer for a community group in the Scottish Borders and don't see what you need here, or need help accessing and using these statistics, contact the Research and Information team.