There has been virtually no growth in the private sector economy amid manufacturing job losses and reduced demand for Scottish exports in Europe, according to a report.
The rising price of energy, fuel and food has also driven up costs for businesses, the Bank of Scotland report found.
The manufacturing sector remains the hardest hit by the economic stagnation, although there are signs that the decline is slowing.
Scotland's overall manufacturing output in October fell for the fourth month in a row, the longest continuous period of decline since the 2008/9 recession. Manufacturing firms recorded both redundancies and the non-replacement of voluntary leavers over the month, although the overall rate of job losses was said to be "marginal".
Reduced demand in Europe was blamed by manufacturers for a substantial decrease in export orders. The service sector continued to expand at "a relatively subdued pace" with a marginal increase in recruitment.
Although the deterioration in the Scottish economy over the summer has now been stemmed, the Bank`s monthly Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report said this amounts to very little change in the Scottish economy.
Donald MacRae, chief economist at Bank of Scotland, said: "October's PMI showed a welcome return to weak growth in the private sector of the Scottish economy, driven by a rise in services activity.Manufacturing output fell in the month but at a much slower pace than in September indicating a recovery from the dip in output felt from July to September. The deterioration in the Scottish economy identified in the summer months has been arrested but there are few signs yet of a sustained recovery."
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "It is imperative that the UK Government follows our lead and that the Chancellor uses his Autumn Statement to provide an immediate capital stimulus to boost economic activity. An extra £5 billion in capital investment across the UK would allow us to provide an additional stimulus of more than £400 million in order to support employment and growth in Scotland now."
Scotland's manufacturing industry will also be high on the agenda at the STUC's Annual Women's Conference in Perth. Margaret Boyd, a GMB member who worked for 40 years in McVities at Tollcross in Glasgow, said: "The end of the road for Hall's in Broxburn came last week, to the devastated, skilled and loyal workers of this company walking out of work for the last time.
"Now another closure has been announced last week in another food company in Shettleston, Glasgow. What is the future of manufacturing in Scotland? The closures of both these food companies do not fill me with confidence. Obviously more work needs to be done there."
