A report has claimed the downturn in the oil and gas industry could be having a wider impact on the Scottish economy.
The Scottish Chambers of Commerce said the effect of lower oil prices could be extending beyond businesses operating directly in the sector.
The latest quarterly report received responses from 477 firms in Scotland.
In the findings, both construction and manufacturing sectors reported strong results in the fourth quarter of last year.
The tourism sector saw mixed results with both retail and wholesale experiencing a dip.
It was found that both industries results were lower in comparison with the year before.
Scottish Chambers of Commerce director Liz Cameron said: “Our latest economic indicator points to continued success for many businesses, but the shadow of the continued decline in global oil
prices now looks to be extending beyond those businesses operating directly in the sector.
“Last year, the Scottish construction sector was one of the primary drivers of growth.
“This remained the case right up until the end of 2015 and, despite the fact that optimism in the sector is less strong than it was a year ago, prospects for employment in the sector remain positive.
“However, this is one of a number of sectors where businesses are facing skills shortages, with nearly two-thirds of businesses who were hiring having experienced difficulties in recruiting.”
“Despite a slowdown in exports, there remain some grounds for optimism for Scotland’s manufacturers, many of which recorded a broadly positive end to 2015.
“Both revenues and orders remained in positive territory but expectations are for investment to ease in the early part of 2016.
“Results for tourism have been more mixed, where the sector is markedly less optimistic than it was at the turn of 2015, and retail, where lower revenues and profitability may be a consequence of early and prolonged pre-Christmas discounting.”
The optimism of businesses was also lower in the final quarter of last year compared with the same time last year.
Firms were said to have concern over the living wage, the lower oil price and what business rates could be set.
