A report, which acts as a barometer for the local jobs market indicates that although job hiring is slowing slightly, the IT sector is showing no sign of a slump. Belfast remains a key location for global companies to invest and have access to a talented workforce.
production
Record highs and lows but increasing productivity remains the Holy Grail
Following on from the labour market data dump earlier in the week, today saw the release of two output surveys – the Index of Production (mostly manufacturing) and the Index of Services (refers to private sector services only). Both of these surveys posted healthy rates of growth rates in Q2 2018. Furthermore, there were upward revisions to the first quarter figures. The upshot of this is the Northern Ireland economy has had a strong start to the year and indeed stronger than previously thought. The Northern Ireland Composite Economic Index for Q2 2018 will be released on 11th October alongside the Index of Construction and is set to record a robust rate of growth in Q2.
