Business Activity In NI Soared In July

There was a good news report out today (13th August 2024), from the Ulster Bank Northern Ireland Growth Tracker, which showed that business activity had really ramped up last month. The business growth was in the main coming from the manufacturing and services sectors, with retail and construction rather lagging behind.

A number of companies in the services sector have been taking on new members of staff to deal with the demand, with new orders flooding in. And this, coupled with a cut in the inflation rate, has meant the feelgood factor has really kicked in.

Marked Improvement In Output And New Orders

Here is what Richard Ramsey, chief economist Northern Ireland, Ulster Bank, said about the latest economic news in an article on the Belfast Telegraph website:

“The Northern Ireland private sector started the second half of the year in a similar vein to how it ended the first, with marked improvements in output and new orders.

“In fact, the expansion in business activity in Northern Ireland was the strongest of all the UK regions and nations covered by the report.”

He commented on the fact that the report was not altogether positive for all sectors of the economy, but went on to say:

“That said, companies across the private sector saw outstanding business expand again, suggesting that employment and output will need to be raised further in the months ahead to try and keep on top of workloads.

“More good news for firms in Northern Ireland was that the ramping up of demand in the private sector has not been accompanied by building inflationary pressures.

“On the contrary, both input costs and selling prices rose at weaker rates in July.

“While nothing should be taken for granted, everything seems set up for firms to have a successful second half of 2024.”

Expansion In NI The Sharpest Of The 12 UK Regions

The article went on to say that:

‘According to the report, the expansion in output in Northern Ireland was the sharpest of the 12 UK regions and nations covered. Where activity increased, companies generally said higher new orders were to thank.

‘Retail, manufacturing and services all saw activity rise, though it was down for construction.

‘New business increased for the seventh consecutive month and at a sharp pace that was stronger than the average across the UK as a whole.

‘Companies expect continued increases in new orders over the coming year to support growth of output.’

Amen to that!