ESRI director and report co-author Alan Barrett said the goal of the research series is to assess how the two economies evolve over time. “While the rate of growth in Northern Ireland lags that of [the Republic], the rate for Northern Ireland is more than double that of the UK in the same period,” the report’s authors said. The North’s unemployment rate was also substantially lower than the Republic’s at the end of the second quarter, “although this must be viewed in the context of the lower participation rate in Northern Ireland”, the authors said. Data for the North is “generally available with more of a lag” than for the Republic, particularly in relation to demographic indicators, it found. [ Manufacturing in Northern Ireland definitely not a thing of the pastOpens in new window ]The economists said that developing comparable data on an all-island basis “could support more effective labour market planning”.

Source: The Irish Times December 08, 2025 12:57 UTC