A new report from the Ulster Bank suggests that the worst of the economic downturn in Northern Ireland has passed.

 

Although NI’s private sector has seen business activity fall sharply and at a much faster rate than the UK average, there are signs of improvement.

The latest Ulster Bank figures suggest the pace of decline has slowed down.

April’s drop in output was the least marked for eight months and new businesses declined at a much weaker rate, the report states.

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

The bank’s survey of firms – the Purchasing Managers’ Index survey (PMI) – found April had the highest reading for business activity in eight months.

The bank’s 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.”

“Meanwhile, the pace of decline in employment levels has also eased and is broadly in line with the UK as a whole. However, this is still consistent with significant job losses across all sectors of the economy.”

Source – www.news.bbc.co.uk