NORTHERN IRELAND’S retail sector suffered a sharp downturn in the run-up to Christmas despite the tidal wave of shoppers who travelled across the border to take advantage of the euro/sterling exchange rate, a new report shows.
New industry analysis from Ulster Bank shows the North’s retail sector showed the sharpest fall in activity across all sectors of the economy in December.
Richard Ramsey, the bank’s chief economist in the North, says there is growing evidence to suggest “the clear out performance amongst some firms in certain locations is masking the general malaise in the sector as a whole.”
The latest Ulster Bank Northern Ireland Purchasing Managers’ Index shows new and outstanding business fell last month following no change in November. Mr Ramsey said local firms blame lower volumes and unfavourable trading conditions for the December downturn.
He said that while the latest economic research shows an easing in the rate of job losses, the rate of decline in new orders means it will be some time before there is a rise in private sector employment.
Employment fell in the private sector in December for the 22nd month in a row. However, the pace of job losses has eased to its slowest since April 2008. Data from Ulster Bank also shows that the decline of the Republic’s building industry continued in the closing month of 2009.
Its Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index shows activity in the industry fell to 33.1 in December from 34.2 in November. The index takes 50 as its benchmark and a figure below that indicates a decline on the previous month. Any figure above that indicates growth.
