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New business placed with private sector firms in the North East of England climbs for 11 consecutive months 

  • First rise in activity for six months 
  • Business confidence picks up 
  • Slower reductions in new orders and employment 

The headline Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s private sector – rose to 50.9 in May from 47.0 in April, back above the 50.0 no-change mark for the first time in six months and signalling a slight increase in output across the private sector.

 

Sebastian Burnside, Ulster Bank Chief Economist, commented: 

 

“We can take a lot of encouragement from the latest Ulster Bank Northern Ireland Growth Tracker data, with the index readings for business activity and new orders the highest since late-2024. Output even returned to expansion territory, suggesting that the worst of the recent soft-patch is behind us. “If these trends continue in the months ahead, we will hopefully see firms looking to take on additional staff, although the twin pressures of rising overheads and difficulties finding suitable staff were reported again in May. “While higher staff costs continued to push up overall input prices, inflationary pressures softened since April, again painting a brighter picture as we head towards the midpoint of the year.

 

Ulster Bank Northern Ireland Growth Tracker (PDF, 1MB)

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