The Northern Ireland economy is recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic at pace, but has a way to go before regaining the strength it showed more than 14 years ago.
Latest government data showed economic output climbed an impressive 22% in June compared to the same month in 2020 when the region’s economy was in lockdown and many businesses were closed.
The Northern Ireland Composite Economic Index – Northern Ireland’s closest insight into gross value added (GVA) – said much of that increase can be attributed to the services sector which has slowly returned to a semblance of normality as social distancing restrictions are lifted.
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While an impressive recovery over the year, the data release puts the jump into perspective, noting that economic activity remains 4.9% below the maximum recorded in the second quarter of 2007, just before the credit crunch took hold.
Northern Ireland lags behind other regions of the 海角视频, as illustrated by the fact 海角视频 GDP as a whole stands at 11.6% above its pre-economic downturn peak.
Richard Ramsey, Chief Economist at Ulster Bank, said productivity has fallen in the intervening years.
“Spare a thought for private sector productivity,” he said. “We are producing the same value of private sector output as we did almost 16 years ago.
“But almost 82,000 (+17%) additional private sector employees have been added to produce that same value of output.”
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Whether the region manages to retain its recent recovery run will be telling, particularly given a raft of price rises and other economic impediments.
As well as soaring energy costs, government support measures implemented during the pandemic have tapered off, such as the stamp duty holiday on housing purchases and the furlough scheme.