GLASGOW's streets are buzzing again, at least after dark.

New figures obtained by The Evening Times show the number of people out and about in the city centre between the hours of 6pm and 4am jumped nearly 16% in April to August this year compared with the same period of soaking wet 2012.

This September there were more than 800,000 clicks on the electronic counters set up by the council to count footfall at key city locations.

That compared with under 700,000 in the same month a year before.

Council bosses seized upon the new numbers as evidence that Glasgow was more "resilient" to the high street gloom reflected in Scotland-wide statistics for retail sales and footfall.

In fact, vibrant after-dark figures helped Glasgow's overall footfall in the Style Mile to edge up, bucking national trends.

Liz Cameron, the former Lord Provost and current member of the council's ruling executive committee for jobs and the economy, said the new numbers were "very heartening".

She added: "I especially welcome the dramatic increase in the night-time figures.

"The city council and our partners have invested in a number of initiatives to support and develop the evening economy and the experience of our fantastic night life.

"Glasgow's bars, clubs and restaurants all play a crucial role in our economy, as do our legendary music venues, and I am sure the SSE Hydro will continue this upward trend."

The main retail drag of Glasgow - including the many non-shopping businesses based in the area - remains one of the powerhouses of the Scottish economy.

Some observers, however, believe Glasgow is particularly vulnerable to the retail downturn - because so much of its regeneration focus has been on shopping and leisure.

The city has sought to shore up its defences against the gloom by focusing on events and other initiatives, such as late night shopping beginning this month.

Two Fat Ladies' owner Ryan James, who chairs Glasgow Restaurant Association, said: "We may not be experiencing boom times but how bad would it be without all these events and festivals?

"There was a real panic four or five years ago that there would be a raft of restaurant closures in Glasgow.

"But it never happened. That could be because of the pre-emptive moves and the good planning 15 years ago to make the city centre busy."

Nightclub owner Donald MacLeod also praised the "good work" of individual promoters and the SECC in bringing big acts in to the city.

But he doesn't believe Glasgow can buck big economic trends.

Mr MacLeod said: "The council should be supporting such initiatives more and support the night-time economy more, which at present they are not.

"Our tills are definitely not busier. You can't change the economics.

"The only thing going up are bus lane fines and parking fines."

Scots shunned the shops again in September as real incomes continued to fall.

Total footfall in retail outlets was 2.7% lower than in the same month in 2012.

Like-for-like sales were down 0.8%. Sales figures are not available for Glasgow.

david.leask@ eveningtimes.co.uk