Economic Output Statistics - September 2026

Date published: 17 September 2026

Commentary

• Output in the services sector increased by 0.8% over the second quarter of 2026 and increased by 0.7% over the year.
• Retail output in NI saw a quarterly decrease of 1.0% in Quarter 2 2026 and a decrease of 2.0% over the year.
• Production sector output saw an increase of 2.9% over the second quarter of 2026 and increased by 7.8% over the year.

Services Sector Output 

• The NI Index of Services (IOS) increased by 0.8% over the second quarter of 2026 (April - June) and increased by 0.7% over the year. The UK Index of Services increased by 0.5% over the quarter and increased by 1.6% over the year.
• Output for the NI Services sector reached a new series high in Quarter 2 2026. UK Services sector output also reached a new series high in Quarter 2 2026.
• When the most recent four quarters are compared to the previous four quarters, the NI services sector increased by 0.9% while the UK services sector increased by 1.3%.
• The NI Index of Services is now 11.7% above its pre-pandemic level seen in Quarter 4 2019, and the UK IOS is 8.7% above its pre-pandemic level.
• Over the quarter, the Business services and finance sector increased by 1.3%, the Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; accommodation and food service sector increased by 1.2%, and the Transport, storage, information and communications sector increased by 1.1%. This was partly offset by a 0.8% decrease in the Other services sector.
• Over the year the Business services and finance sector increased by 4.3%, and the Transport, storage, information and communications sector increased by 2.4%. Conversely, the Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; accommodation and food service sector decreased by 0.4%, and the Other services sector decreased by 0.3%.

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).
• The NI Retail Sales Index (RSI) saw a decrease of 1.0% in Quarter 2 2026 and a decrease of 2.0% over the year. The GB RSI saw an increase of 0.3% in the quarter and an increase of 2.6% over the year.
• When the most recent four quarters are compared to the previous four quarters, the NI retail sector increased by 1.3% while the GB retail sector increased by 2.0%.

Production Sector Output

• The NI Index of Production (IOP) increased by 2.9% over the quarter (April - June) to reach a new series high and increased by 7.8% over the year. The UK IOP showed no change over the quarter and increased by 0.3% over the year.
• NI Production Sector output continues to grow in Quarter 2 2026, with growth recorded in eight of the last nine quarters to Quarter 2 2026.  
• When the most recent four quarters are compared to the previous four quarters, the NI production sector increased by 5.3% while the UK production sector decreased by 0.2%.
• The NI IOP is now 14.3% above the pre-pandemic level seen in Quarter 4 2019, while the UK IOP remains 7.2% below its Quarter 4 2019 level.
• Over the quarter, the increase in NI production output was driven by a rise in all four main sectors - Manufacturing (2.9%), Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (2.3%), Water supply, sewerage and waste management (inc. recycling) (6.5%) and Mining and quarrying (5.1%).
• Over the year, the increase in NI production output was driven by a rise in three main sectors - Manufacturing (9.0%), Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (6.9%) and Mining and quarrying (0.8%). This was partially offset by a fall in Water supply, sewerage and waste management (inc. recycling) (0.3%).

Upcoming Releases

• The NI Composite Economic Index and Quarterly Construction Output Statistics are scheduled for publication on 24 September 2026.
• The Index of Production and Index of Services reports for Quarter 3 2026 will be published on 17 December 2026.