Seventh issue of “Dublin Economic Monitor” Launched
Dublin’s Economic performance broadly stable, despite rising uncertainty
The seventh issue of the Dublin Economic Monitor has been launched today. A joint initiative of the four Dublin local authorities, the Monitor looks exclusively at the Dublin region, and tracks 15 key economic indicators. It captures data from the height of the boom to the economic crash and the subsequent recovery. Most of these indicators show that Dublin’s economic performance is broadly improving, but challenges related to housing and the unfolding consequences of Brexit remain problematic.
Key Highlights:
Dublin’s unemployment rate rose to 7.9% in Q2 2016, despite an increase in the number of persons in employment.
Residential rents in Dublin returned to robust levels of growth in Q2 2016 with rents for both houses and apartments rising sharply in the period.
Residential property prices rose by 3.8% YoY in July to stand at the highest level recorded since September 2009.
Arrivals at Dublin Airport continued to increase at a rapid rate and reached a record high of almost 1.14 million in May 2016.
Passenger trips on Dublin’s public transport system fell back to 50 million in Q3 2016 on foot of the strikes and closures in the LUAS service.
Housing completions in Dublin remained at a low level in August 2016, with fewer than 360 houses completed in the month.
This issue of the Economic Monitor also contains a report by SOLAS Labour Market Economist, Jasmina Behan, on growth and demand in the Dublin labour market, and a special feature by the CEO of Keelings, Caroline Keeling, on the economic contribution and outlook for the Capital’s agri-food sector.
Speaking at the publication of this issue, Ciara Morley, Economic Consultant at DKM Economic Consultants said: “The latest set of indicators presented in the Dublin Economic Monitor show that the Capital’s economy is performing well, though an increase in the unemployment rate in Q2 2016 coupled with ongoing issues in the housing market suggest there remains room for improvement.”
Austin Hughes, Chief Economist at KBC Bank Ireland said: “The weakening in the Dublin Consumer Sentiment Index largely reflects notably increasing uncertainty about the economic outlook. The UK Brexit referendum played a significant role but so too did worries about layoffs at Intel and a number of high profile industrial relation disputes that weighed on consumer thinking about the jobs market in Dublin.”
Andrew Harker, Senior Economist at Markit said: “Latest PMI data suggest that the Dublin economy has held up reasonably well following the UK’s vote to leave the EU, with output, new orders and employment all rising at faster rates during the third quarter of the year. The improvement in the rate of job creation is particularly welcome given the marked slowdown seen in Q2. As was the case in the previous quarter, the construction and services sectors led overall growth, with manufacturing production rising at a more modest pace.
The picture in the Dublin economy compares favourably with that seen across the Rest of Ireland, where rates of expansion eased from the second quarter. Whether Dublin can maintain this outperformance remains to be seen given current levels of economic uncertainty, but the economy seems set to meet any future challenges from a position of strength.”
Access to the full report is provided by clicking on the following link: www.dublineconomy.ie
Register at the following linkhttp://bit.ly/1W3Xdjsfor quarterly updates on Dublin’s economic performance.
