Economic Development
A growing, vibrant economy
Northern Ireland’s economy continues to grow through rising levels of employment and falling unemployment.
- Northern Ireland’s flourishing services sector contributes almost 70% to GDP, reflecting the growth of its knowledge-led economy.
- Over the past 5 years, NI manufacturing output has performed remarkably well, increasing by 24.5% compared to a corresponding fall of 1.6% in the UK as a whole during the same period.
- Unemployment has almost halved over the last 10 years.
- Employment growth 1999 – 2004 was 8.3% - over twice the UK average and greater than other UK regions.
- Northern Ireland has an advanced, resilient, digital telecommunications network that provides high speed voice and data connections.
- Northern Ireland’s GDP had the largest increase between 1990 and 1999 of all the UK regions growing 1% per annum faster than the UK during this period.
Economic Vision
- Increase investment in R&D and promote innovation and creativity
- Promote and encourage enterprise
- Ensure our people have the right skills for future employment opportunities
- Ensure we have a modern infrastructure in place to support business
Mutually beneficial partnerships
The Northern Ireland Bureau is working to develop mutually beneficial partnerships and exchanging best practise with the US, for example, through:
- Technology Partnerships
- Education links
- Small Business development
- Visit programs to Northern Ireland