But growth is getting more expensive, as other mining firms, and Western Australia's booming oil and gas industry, compete for labour and materials.

ECONOMIST: Mining

So the price of labour and materials is much elevated.

FORBES: Money Creation and Limited Government

Respondents also suggested that cost burdens rose again in Scotland as a result of higher fuel, labour and raw materials costs.

BBC: PMI survey: Scottish economy gains momentum

Small and medium-sized businesses face high raw-materials prices and rising labour costs, but miss out on the low electricity prices and tax advantages enjoyed by big firms.

ECONOMIST: Policymakers can help create jobs, up to a point

Wood Group PSN (WGPSN) will provide management, labour, materials, services and equipment for the project.

BBC: Aberdeen firm Wood Group secures $50m North Sea deal

That meant their margins took a double hit from rising raw materials and labour costs.

ECONOMIST: Buttonwood: A gap in the hedge | The

Costly land and labour values have forced many perfume makers to move to major cities and increase the use of synthetic materials, said Virginia Bonofiglio, associate chairperson of cosmetics and fragrance marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

BBC: Perfume in Provence: Visit, smell, create

While companies faced growing pressure from rising costs of input materials, including fuel, food and labour, that was not matched by rising output prices.

BBC: Poor market conditions hit Scottish firms