Standing view · business · Aberdeenshire
deteriorating, held with established confidence, formed on 5 October 2026 from movements in 2026-06.
Business deaths in Aberdeenshire numbered 260 in the quarter to June 2025, fell to 225 in the quarter to March 2026, then rose to 280 in the quarter to June 2026, the highest of the three and an unfavourable movement. Businesses numbered 12,475 in 2026, of which 9,870 employed 0 to 4 people, 115 employed 50 to 99 and 15 employed 250 to 499. Business sites totalled 14,335. Deaths ended the period above where they started.
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 Aberdeenshire. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Business deaths | 2025-06 | deteriorating |
| Business deaths | 2026-03 | improving |
| Business deaths | 2026-06 | deteriorating |
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 | 2026 | — |
| Businesses employing 0 to 4 people | 2026 | — |
| Businesses employing 250 to 499 people | 2026 | — |
| Businesses employing 50 to 99 people | 2026 | rising |
| Business sites | 2026 | — |