Dublin region continues to lead the National economic recovery

The second issue of the Dublin Economic Monitor was launched today Thursday 23rd July. A joint initiative of the four Dublin local authorities, today’s launch hosted by Fingal County Council was held in IBM Smart Cities Lab in Dublin 15. The Monitor looks exclusively at the Dublin region which incorporates the four local authority areas of Fingal, Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin, and tracks 15 key economic indicators.

The decision to commission the Dublin Economic Monitor reflects the enhanced role of local authorities in the area of economic development and enterprise support, in line with the local government reform programme.

For many of these indicators, Dublin is now back at, or near its peak position.
Key findings from the report:

·         Employment: Unemployment rates in Dublin continue to fall year on year albeit there has been some stabilisation in the first quarter. The current unemployment rate in Dublin is 8.9%.

• Housing: Residential rents for Dublin houses reached their highest point in over six years while rents for Dublin apartments are now at 2008 levels. Excess demand continues to affect prices.
• Airport Arrivals: Dublin Airport arrivals reached a record high in April 2015, breaking the monthly 1 million passenger mark for the first time, and repeating this again in June (seasonally adjusted). Passenger arrivals of 1.007m through the airport during April 2015 represents a year on year increase of 15.1%.
• Dublin Port Traffic: Cargo likewise reached an all-time high, handling 8.1 million tonnes in the second quarter of 2015 representing an increase of 4% on same period in 2014.Tonnage at Dublin Port is now at its highest level in the past 9 years.
• Car Licensing: Statistics continue on an upward trend reflecting the general economic upturn over the past two years. The number of new car registrations in May 2015 was 3,452, an increase of 29% on May 2014.

· Consumer Sentiment: KBC/ESRI Dublin Consumer Sentiment is the highest in the history of the series. It continues to rise from its 2003 base figure of 100 to148.9 in Quarter 1 2015, and has risen again in Quarter 2 to 155.6.

· Business Output: MARKIT Dublin PMI data points to strong accelerating expansion of output during Quarter 2, primarily driven by Services, but with the Construction sector also featuring; however the rate of job creation has slowed. Dublin PMI averaged 61.7 in Quarter 2, up from 59.5 in Quarter 1 where an index base reading above 50 indicates an overall increase in that variable and below 50 an overall decrease.

Dublin as a region has a pivotal part to play in driving national economic development – this cannot be overemphasised. It competes with other cities in Europe and further afield for foreign direct investment. It is essential that we maintain a strong focus on maintaining and enhancing Dublin’s attractiveness and competitiveness as a location in which to do business, to live and work in.

Paul Reid, Chief Executive Fingal County Council commented “The economic recovery is well underway. Looking at the Economic Monitor we see an improvement across all metrics of the economy this quarter. Fingal plays a large part in the regional economy and The Dublin Enterprise Zone, where we have this seminar, will continue to provide quality jobs across many sectors and be a further stimulus for growth right across the region”

Access to the full report is provided by clicking on the following link.