NI 'out of recession next year'

Arlene Foster was selected unanimously

The NI Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has suggested the NI economy will move out of recession next year.

She said forecasts commissioned by her department suggested "a return to marginal growth in 2010."

The minister added that the NI economy was expected to contract by 4.3% this year, while the UK as a whole is expected to experience a larger fall.

She also said the relatively large size of the public sector had helped lessen the impact of recession in NI.

In response to assembly questions the minister said the NI economy is still experiencing difficulties as a result of the global recession with unemployment continuing to rise and output continuing to fall.

Confidence

However, she added that recent trends have revealed a slowdown in the rate of decline.

She said: "For example, the latest increase in the claimant count was the smallest increase for the last fifteen months.

"Also, while output levels for the service sector remained flat during quarter two, 2009, revised figures for the first quarter of the year registered growth for the first time in two years."

The minister also said she did not believe that the impact of the recession has been greater on Northern Ireland than it has on the UK as a whole.

Research by Northern Bank published last week suggested that consumer confidence in NI is still low but gradually improving.