Economic Output Statistics

The economic output statistics were published today by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

Economic Output Statistics

Commentary

• Output in the services sector increased by 0.4% over the second quarter of 2024, reaching a series high, and by 3.8% over the year.
• Retail output in NI saw a decrease of 0.6% in Quarter 2 2024 and an increase of 0.6% over the year.
• Production sector output decreased by 0.1% over the second quarter of 2024 and decreased by 3.5% over the year.
• When comparing current output with the pre-Coronavirus pandemic levels seen in Quarter 4 2019, NI service output is 10.6% above its pre-pandemic level, while NI production output is 0.9% below its pre-pandemic level, and NI Retail output remains 4.0% below its pre-pandemic level.

Services Sector Output

• The NI IOS increased by 0.4% over the second quarter of 2024 (April - June), reaching a series high.  NI IOS increased by 3.8% over the year.  UK output increased by 0.8% over the quarter, to reach a UK series high, and by 1.4% over the year.
• When the most recent four quarters are compared to the previous four quarters the NI services sector increased by 3.2% while the UK services sector increased by 0.5%.
• NI services output is now 10.6% above the pre-Coronavirus pandemic level seen in Quarter 4 2019 while UK services output is 5.0% above its Quarter 4 2019 level.
• The 0.4% quarterly increase in NI services output reflected increases in the Business services and finance sector (2.9%); the Other services sector (1.2%); and the Transport, storage, information and communications sector (0.3%).  The only sector to show a quarterly decrease was the Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; accommodation and food service sector (0.1%).
• The 3.8% increase seen in NI services output over the year was driven by increases in the Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; accommodation and food service sector (3.3%); the Business services and finance sector (8.9%); the Other services sector (0.6%); and the Transport, storage, information & communication sector (0.5%).

Retail Sector Output

• The retail sales sector refers to SIC 47 (Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles) and is a subset of the Index of Services (IOS).
• Retail output in NI saw a decrease of 0.6% in Quarter 2 2024 and an increase of 0.6% over the year.
• GB RSI output experienced decreases of 0.1% over the quarter and 0.2% over the year.
• NI RSI output in Quarter 2 2024 is 7.5% below the series high seen in Quarter 3 2020, but is still 5.7% above the series low seen in Quarter 1 2021.
• NI RSI output remains 4.0% below the pre-Coronavirus pandemic level seen in Quarter 4 2019 while GB RSI output is now 2.4% below its Quarter 4 2019 level.

Production Sector Output

• The NI IOP decreased by 0.1% over the quarter (April - June) and decreased by 3.5% over the year. The UK IOP decreased by 0.1% over the quarter and 0.5% over the year.
• When the most recent four quarters are compared to the previous four quarters, the NI production sector decreased by 4.0% while the UK production sector increased by 0.2%.
• The NI IOP is 0.9% below the pre-Coronavirus pandemic level seen in Quarter 4 2019, while the UK remains 8.4% below its Quarter 4 2019 level.
• Quarterly decreases were seen in all four sectors - Manufacturing (1.1%), Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (2.1%), Water supply, sewerage and waste management (Inc. recycling) (3.2%) and Mining and quarrying (0.9%). [Note that each broad sector index and the overall IOP index are seasonally adjusted independently of each other. It is not appropriate to directly compare the changes in the broad sectors to the changes in the overall IOP index.]
• Over the year, the decrease in NI production output was driven by decreases in all four sectors - Manufacturing (3.7%), Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (3.2%), Water supply, sewerage and waste management (Inc. recycling) (5.4%) and Mining and quarrying (25.0%).2

Upcoming Releases

• The NI Composite Economic Index and Quarterly Construction Enquiry are scheduled for publication on 26 September 2024.
• The next Labour Market Report will be published on 15 October 2024.
• The Index of Production and Index of Services reports for Quarter 3 2024 will be published on 19 December 2024.

Notes to editors: 

1. This report will be of interest to Ministers, policy makers, public bodies, the business community, banks, economic commentators, academics and the general public with an interest in the local economy.

2. The RSI has been released as an experimental statistic, which means that it is in a testing and development phase. NISRA will continue to review the methodology and may make changes to it in the future.

3. The detailed statistical bulletins are available at: Index of Services and Index of Production. Further information and tables from each of the data sources are also available at these locations. As part of the NISRA Outputs Consultation, which ended on 15 October 2023, the experimental NI Quarterly Retail Sales Index was included in the revised Index of Services bulletin. Similarly, the format of the Index of Production was amended.

4. Feedback is welcomed and should be addressed to:

Responsible statistician:

Carole-Ann McKay,

Economic & Labour Market Statistics Branch (ELMS),

Carole-ann.mckay@nisra.gov.uk or Tel: 028 9025 5119.

5. Follow NISRA on X (Formerly Twitter) - @NISRA

6. To keep up to date with news from the Department for the Economy you can follow us on the following social media channels:

X – @Economy_NI
Facebook – @DeptEconomyNI
Instagram – economy_ni
LinkedIn – Department for the Economy NI 

7. For media enquiries contact the Department for the Economy Press Office at pressoffice@economy-ni.gov.uk  

8. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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