Talking-up Scotland

© ALAMY

Figures released yesterday from the Department for International Trade do seem a little confusing but, at face value, they suggest Scotland is getting a much bigger share of new jobs from foreign investment than the rest of the UK.

Scotland attracted 183 foreign investments and the UK, as-a-whole, attracted 2 265. I know that means Scotland is doing less well, apparently but the 183 Scottish projects created ‘over 5 500’ new jobs while the 2 265 UK projects only created ‘nearly 15 000 new jobs ‘across the country’. Again, if I read this stuff correctly and ‘across the country’ includes Scotland then there were less than 10 000 in the rest of the UK. So, with only 9% of the population we attracted more than 33% of the jobs? Maybe it’s all wrong arithmetically but International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, said:

‘These results are great news for Scotland. As world leaders across a range of sectors including life sciences, oil and gas and financial services, it’s great to see foreign investors recognising the country’s excellence.’

So, maybe, most of the rUk projects are tiny and the Scottish ones are big? I welcome elucidation.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-investors-see-opportunities-in-scotland