Northern Ireland is weathering the manufacturing recession better than Britain according to a CBI survey published today.
It showed no fall in orders falling over the past four months.
The Regional Trends Survey said output in Northern Ireland showed a modest rise, reflecting the rise in orders and a further small rise was expected in the next four months.
The rise in orders had been achieved despite a large fall in export orders, it revealed. However general business confidence and export optimism was down, but not as sharply as in the last survey in October.
Employment, which increased steadily until mid-2001 against a UK trend, has fallen sharply in the past two surveys and by more than the UK average, said the CBI.
It warned: "A further fall in employment is expected in the next four months, expectations are at their most pessimistic since 1993."
Investment intentions in plant and machinery and buildings remained very negative - however the number of companies indicating reduced spending plans was appreciably lower than in the October survey.
Demand uncertainty was by far the most important factor constraining investment intentions, the survey revealed.
And Northern Ireland was at the top of the list of regions which planned to cut back on training.
PA