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The Scottish economy is "thriving," despite global economic unrest.

That's according to the latest research from financial experts at BDO, a network of accountants and business advisors. They say that the rise of summer output in Scotland is evidence of a "summer of success" for businesses north of the border.

The findings are backed up by a similar study from the Bank of Scotland, which also suggested that economic output was on the rise. However, both sets of research suggested that there had been a drop in employment levels.

Commenting on the research, Martin Gill, head of BDO LLP in Scotland said that political certainty had helped bolster short-term business confidence. "The result is a thriving economy, despite global economic unrest," he explained.

Mr Gill also warned that the strength of the pound could put a strain on exports in the future.

"As business success continues to exceed other markets, the strong pound will make it harder for our exporters – particularly manufacturers – to find customers," he said.

"We can't let confidence tip over into complacency; keeping us competitive should be a government priority," he added.

Activity growth

The research from Bank of Scotland found that activity grew in the services sector while manufacturing output also returned to growth, following contraction in the last three months.

Donald MacRae, chief economist at Bank of Scotland also noted that the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for July was the highest so far this year.

"New orders rose in all sectors while the pace of decline in new export orders slowed. Although employment fell, the Scottish economy continued the recovery from the slowdown in the first quarter of the year," he said, adding that moderate growth is expected for the rest of 2015.

Some companies have linked job cuts to internal restructuring efforts and there has also been job shedding in the service sector.

The latest employment index was recorded at 108.4. For comparison, it was 109.1 in June and 109.6 in July 2014.