Andrew Web, Chief Economist at Grant Thorton has said: “The local economy is now broadly performing at pre-pandemic levels.”
Mr. Webb was speaking in response to a publication by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency of the Indexes of Production and Services covering April to June 2021.
Andrew Webb stated that “the latest economic output data for Northern Ireland points to a strong recovery for the local economy. Following steep declines last year, output in the production and services sectors rose by 29.2% and 21% respectively over the 12 months to June.”
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Mr. Webb also added: “Although some sectors, such as aerospace, have not reached pre-pandemic output levels, the increasing sense is that the economy is essentially back on track. Labour market performance and a high level of vacancies would support this view."
Andrew also stated that he believed the high performance had been fuelled by a surge in the hospitality sector as the economy reaped the benefits of pent-up demand from extended lockdown periods and strong trade from the Republic of Ireland.
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Looking ahead, Mr. Webb said that the future is: “optimistic but uncertain.”
Source: Written from press release.
