NI businesses grow by 6% in 2005

The latest figures have revealed that Northern Ireland business income (Gross Value Added) grew to £14.5 billion, a rise of some 6.5%, or £892 million, during 2005.

These figures are among the provisional results from the 2005 Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry (NIABI) which provides the first detailed estimates for 2005 of the level of mainly business based economic activity across some two-thirds of the NI economy.

The results include estimates of the value of income generated by businesses after payment for goods and services - approximate Gross Value Added (GVA) - the total value of sales (Turnover) and other financial information.

Welcoming the publication of the report, Enterprise Minister Maria Eagle, said: "I very much welcome the evidence of increased business activity over the year. The strong development of the private sector is critical to the growth of a sustainable economy in Northern Ireland and we are continuing to make encouraging progress."

The construction sector reported GVA growth of £468m (29.3%) in 2005 reflecting strong activity compared to 2004. A further significant share of the increase occurred in the service sector, where GVA in 2005 increased by £454 million to £8.2 billion, representing over half of the total business GVA in Northern Ireland. The NIABI indicated that the service sectors experiencing the highest levels of growth over the period 2004 to 2005 include real estate, renting, business activities and hotels and restaurants.

The Minister continued: "Much of the annual increase is due to gains in the Construction sector, which shows evidence of strong growth. It is particularly encouraging to note that the business services sector GVA grew by 25.6% or £444 million over the year, and was worth £2.2 billion in 2005. This is a key sector in which we have been historically underrepresented and it is vital that we continue to build capacity in this area."

The manufacturing sector continues to play an important role in the Northern Ireland economy, with the level of sales reported at £13.7 billion which was similar to that for the last year. Manufacturing GVA was estimated to be worth £3.7 billion or 25.3% of the total in 2005. GVA in the sector was down slightly (2.6% or £99 million) compared to the previous year.

The manufacture of furniture, manufacturing not elsewhere classified, and recycling sector was estimated to have increased its GVA by £41 million over the year to 2005. In contrast, one of the largest decreases in the manufacturing sector occurred in the manufacture of electrical and optical equipment where GVA decreased by £76 million over the year.

The survey results will be used in part to inform the next UK regional accounts released by the Office for National Statistics and provide the most comprehensive estimates available to date on the performance of NI business sectors in 2005.

(SP/KMcA)