Survival at the expense of growth in employment

The number of companies going bust in Scotland fell from 185 in October and November last year to 145 in the same two months this years.

But credit reference agency Equifax warned that, while more firms were now surviving, they were not growing their businesses and, as a consequence, were not hiring staff.

For the UK as a whole, the number of business failures fell by 4.6 per cent year-on-year.

Neil Munroe, Equifax's external affairs director, told The Scotsman that the bigger fall in failures in Scotland could be partly due to lower pressure on salaries and wages.

He added: "If Scottish manufacturers and other businesses were hit early on in the recession then we could also be seeing the rate of failures dropping away now.

"But we're not seeing that in other places - like Wales, Yorkshire and Humberside - where the number of business failures is still increasing."

Munroe warned that last week's UK unemployment figures had shown no increase in private sector recruitment.

"Companies may have also maintained pay freezes to ensure they can weather the current difficult conditions," he added.

Equifax compiled its report using data from the Belfast, Edinburgh and London gazettes, the official government newspapers that publish details of winding up orders for failed firms.

Andy Willox, the Federation of Small Businesses' Scottish policy convenor, said that any drop in failure rates was "good news".

But he added: "Given the tough time many businesses are facing this week and last, the FSB is still arguing that flexibility by banks, big business, government and regulators should be offered at every turn and that everyone should try and use their local business community.

"If this happens, there is every chance that the recent cold snap won't result in a chilly spike in Scottish failure rates."