NI Sees Business Growth
12 March 2014
Business activity in Northern Ireland has grown sharply for the ninth month in a row thanks to an influx of new orders, a bellwether survey said.
All four monitored sectors – manufacturing, construction, retail and services – registered growth of activity in February, with retail leading the way.New orders were coming in, helping the rise in activity, and things were also improving for the construction sector.
Ulster Bank chief economist Richard Ramsey said: "Northern Ireland's private sector firms have now reported an increase in business activity, employment and export orders for eight consecutive months. Meanwhile the level of new orders rose in February for the ninth month in a row."
He said that the pace of growth eased in February but it was still steady – the strongest new order growth and expansion of business in a decade during January had created a hard act to follow.
Britain and the Republic,Northern Ireland's main trading partners, also experienced an easing in the pace of their increase in business activity and new orders.
Northern Ireland firms also reported an easing in the pace of job creation in February, after a six-and-a-half-year high in January.
Mr Ramsey said: "Whilst all sectors continue to report strong rates of growth, the retail sector reported the fastest rates of growth in output (sales), new orders and job creation."