An influential independent economic forecasting group has said Scotland is on track for its best year since the financial crisis took hold.
The EY Scottish Item Club is now expecting the economy north of the border to grow by 2.4% this year, a 0.7% increase on its prediction from December.
The group, whose members are drawn from a range of industrial sectors, said a revival in consumer confidence and improvement in the global economy were behind the decision to uprate its forecast.
“This year is shaping up to be the best for Scottish economic growth since the onset of the financial crisis, with business investments and exports adding momentum to the consumer-driven recovery,” said Dougie Adams, senior economic adviser to the Item Club.
The group expects total employment in Scotland to grow by 1.7% this year a figure equating to 45,000 extra full-time jobs and by 1.2% or 33,000 jobs in 2015.
It said it expected job numbers to return to pre-recession levels by 2018, with the business services sector leading the way over the next two years with the creation of an additional 40,000 posts.
“A handful of sectors including transport, food services and retail are expected to create employment, while public administration and manufacturing shed jobs.
“We expect financial services, education and health to tread water,” Mr Adams added.
Finance Secretary John Swinney said: “These forecasts follow on from recent labour market statistics, which show improvements across all headline indicators in Scotland both over the quarter and the year, with the employment level in Scotland increasing for the 16th consecutive monthly release.”
The new Item Club prediction came as the Bank of Scotland’s latest monthly jobs report showed a pick-up in staff placements during May.
IT and computing and accounting and financial services proved the top employers of new permanent staff during the month, while the nursing and medical sector picked up the most temporary employees.
The BoS report showed the number of new job vacancies also increased during the month, although growth was at the slowest rate for seven months.
However, Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae said it was an improving picture overall.
“Not only did the number of people appointed to both permanent and temporary jobs increase over the month but vacancies grew at a robust rate,” Mr MacRae said.
“The number of candidates available for permanent jobs fell, resulting in a noticeable increase in permanent salaries.
“This month’s Barometer provides further evidence that the recovery in the Scottish economy will continue throughout 2014.”
Meanwhile, the “hiring intentions” of Scottish companies are set to increase to record levels later this year.
The BDO Employment Index jumped to a score of 107.7 last month, marginally below the previous high in the survey’s 22-year history of 108.9 which was recorded in February 2007.
The professional services firm now expects that benchmark to be surpassed in the third quarter of the year as firms move to bolster their workforces.
Martin Gill, head of BDO in Scotland, said: “Businesses are translating their confidence in economic recovery into action, demonstrated by the sustained increase in hiring expectations.
“But a gap between supply and demand for skilled workers is developing, which could take the momentum out of the recovery.”