A FURTHER steep fall in business activity and a lack of new orders last month effectively removed any opportunity for Northern Ireland to grasp a “meaningful” economic recovery, latest research shows.

Private sector output in the North fell for the 21st successive month in August, highlighting a worrying weakness across local manufacturing, services, retail and construction sectors.

According to the latest economic research from Ulster Bank, the rate of decline was sharp and the fastest on record this year.

The bank’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report blames “underlying demand weakness” as the principal reason for the latest reduction in output. In contrast to the situation in Northern Ireland, marginal output growth was recorded across the UK economy as a whole last month.

In the North the slump in demand prompted a further round of job-cutting by private sector firms.

Richard Ramsey, Ulster Bank’s chief economist in Northern Ireland, said local firms had indicated that widespread economic uncertainty had stopped businesses and consumers from spending in the North, while companies had also had a continual uphill battle with sharp price inflation.

“In this environment, positive news remains in short supply,” Mr Ramsey said. “The fact that inflation is rising at its weakest rate this year provides little consolation for a distinct lack of demand across all sectors, with the latter expected to put pressure on current employment levels in due course.

“Given that the Northern Ireland economy is suffering more than any other UK region, it needs a stimulus more than anywhere else.”

Mr Ramsey said a reduction in the current rate of corporation tax could provide the stimulus that Northern Ireland needed.