North's economy 'among best performers' in UK
The North now has one of the best performing regional economies in the UK, it was disclosed today.
Soaring property prices and continued buoyant High Street spending coupled with higher-than-average levels of public expenditure helped produce the outcome, according to a new economic study.
Where once the North stumbled along as an economic backwater it now stands fourth in the 12 strong regional league – with only Greater London, the South East and East Anglia growing faster.
A general slowdown in retail spending and weaker housing market in the UK has not been mirrored in the North, according to the latest economic analysis of the UK economy by business advsers PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Philip McDonagh, PwC’s chief economist in Belfast, said the combination of falling consumer confidence in Britain and continued high levels of public expenditure in the North was helping to keep the local economy in the top rankings.
“Services, Government spending and construction are the min drivers of growth across the UK. But in Northern Ireland public expenditure continues to be disproportionately high, property prices continue to increase and the local retail sector remains buoyant.
“Collectively, these are keeping Northern Ireland’s relative economic performance higher than it might otherwise be,” he said.
The UK Economic Outlook from PwC said manufacturing throughout the UK remained weak, hit by low-cost competition, discounting and weak export demand.
At the same time most regions reported heightened construction activity, with the North having created an estimated 20,000 new construction jobs since 1997.
The North was virtually the only UK region reporting continued retail growth, with most regions of England, Scotland and Wales reporting both falling consumer demand and retail sales growth.
PwC warned that with more than one million square feet of new retail space to come on stream in the Belfast Metropolitan area by 2010, any fall in the current level of demand would impact on both investment levels and retail jobs.
The report projects a UK GDP growth of about 2% to 2.25% with Northern Ireland growth of about 2.1% in 2006 keeping it in the top five places in the regional league.
