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| Scotland officially in recession | Scotland officially in recession |
| (11 minutes later) | |
| The Scottish economy has finally fallen into recession, official figures have confirmed. | The Scottish economy has finally fallen into recession, official figures have confirmed. |
| The figures were published just hours before Chancellor Alistair Darling is due to unveil his crucial Budget at Westminster. | The figures were published just hours before Chancellor Alistair Darling is due to unveil his crucial Budget at Westminster. |
| They showed that Scottish gross domestic product (GDP) had suffered two successive quarters of negative growth. | They showed that Scottish gross domestic product (GDP) had suffered two successive quarters of negative growth. |
| Unemployment in Scotland rose by 5,000 over the last quarter, but remained lower than elsewhere in the UK. | Unemployment in Scotland rose by 5,000 over the last quarter, but remained lower than elsewhere in the UK. |
| Scotland's chief statistician said the country's GDP had fallen by 1.7% in the final quarter of 2008. It followed a fall of 0.8% in the previous quarter. | Scotland's chief statistician said the country's GDP had fallen by 1.7% in the final quarter of 2008. It followed a fall of 0.8% in the previous quarter. |
| The UK as a whole was officially deemed to have entered recession in January after its economy also suffered two successive quarters of negative growth. | The UK as a whole was officially deemed to have entered recession in January after its economy also suffered two successive quarters of negative growth. |
| Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney said the figures highlighted the "scale of the economic challenge we face". | Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney said the figures highlighted the "scale of the economic challenge we face". |
| He added: "Although our labour market remains substantially stronger than the UK as whole, further figures published today show unemployment is rising. | He added: "Although our labour market remains substantially stronger than the UK as whole, further figures published today show unemployment is rising. |
| "Such circumstances demand swift, decisive action to support jobs and help businesses both survive and emerge stronger when the recovery begins to kick in." | "Such circumstances demand swift, decisive action to support jobs and help businesses both survive and emerge stronger when the recovery begins to kick in." |
| The fall in Scottish GDP was broadly in line with those of several other economies, with the UK, the Euro zone and the United States all experiencing a 1.6% drop in the final quarter of 2008. | |
| Output declined more sharply in the export-orientated economies of Germany - by 2.1% - and Japan, which suffered a 3.2% drop. |