Downturn 'Ending', Says Ulster Bank

Signs of economic improvement show that the worst of the economic downturn in Northern Ireland has passed.

A new report from Ulster Bank suggests that, although NI's private sector has seen business activity fall sharply and at a much faster rate than the UK average, there are now signs of improvement.

For example, while April's drop in industrial output continued, it was the least marked for eight months.

Ulster Bank also said that new businesses declined at a much slower rate, with the figures suggesting the pace of decline has slowed down overall.

However, the labour market continued to deteriorate, but the number of job losses was also less severe than in the six months prior to April.

The Purchasing Managers' Index survey (PMI) - found April had the highest reading for business activity in eight months.

Bank economist, Richard Ramsey, said: "A range of indicators, including the PMIs, suggest that the worst is now behind us... the latest survey indicates the highest reading for business activity in eight months.

"This indicates that the pace of economic decline is slowing. That said, the PMI still indicates that NI's private sector continues to contract at a more rapid rate than any other UK region and is some 10 index points below the UK reading," he said, noting that the pace of decline in employment levels has also eased and is broadly in line with the UK as a whole.

"This is still consistent with significant job losses across all sectors of the economy."

However, the construction sector is also continuing its current decline according to the Ulster Bank.

While the decline in commercial sector activity appears to be bottoming out, further deterioration is still expected in civil engineering activity, it said.

See: Construction Sector Yet To Build From Decline

(BMcC/JM)