Standing view · business · Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire
falling, held with established confidence, formed on 5 October 2026 from movements in 2026.
Businesses employing 5 to 9 people in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire numbered 2,215 in 2026 and were falling, and businesses employing 20 to 49 people 630, down from 640 in 2025 and also falling. Businesses employing 10 to 19 people rose to 1,230 in 2025. Businesses employing 0 to 4 people stood at 15,480 in 2025 and those employing 100 to 249 people at 140. Business sites numbered 24,435 in 2025 and 24,525 in 2026. The smaller employing bands fell while the total number of sites edged up.
A view is formed only where the evidence names a figure you can check. Each movement listed as a reason had to be large enough to matter and distinctive in at least one way — unusual against this area's own history, unusual against comparable areas, or sustained over several periods. A movement shared with peers counts for less, because it says something about the country rather than about Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses employing 10 to 19 people | 2025 | rising |
| Businesses employing 20 to 49 people | 2025 | falling |
| Businesses employing 20 to 49 people | 2026 | falling |
| Businesses employing 5 to 9 people | 2026 | falling |
These figures carry no defensible direction of their own: a rising house price is good news to an owner and bad news to someone trying to buy, so we do not score one as an improvement. They are shown because they are part of the picture, and they did not decide the view above.
| Measure | Period | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses employing 0 to 4 people | 2025 | — |
| Businesses employing 100 to 249 people | 2025 | — |
| Business sites | 2025 | — |
| Business sites | 2026 | — |