Dublin Economic Monitor: Positive Growth Signals in the Capital in the first quarter of 2023, as recently reported.
The latest Dublin Economic Monitor reveals a growth in economic activity in the capital.
The report, recently published by the four Dublin local authorities, shows that many key economic indicators in the capital are in positive territory, particularly in business activity, consumer spending, and the labor market.
A new indicator demonstrates that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Dublin continued to grow during the first three months of the year.
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Investments in the capital performed favorably when compared to a selection of other European cities, ranking second to Amsterdam in both FDI per capita and average project value.
The Dublin S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index experienced a significant expansion, with a reading of 55.5, surpassing the 50 mark that distinguishes growth from contraction.
Expansions in the services and construction sectors exceeded the contraction in the manufacturing sector.
New order levels, which serve as indicators of businesses’ project pipelines, also expanded at a strong rate, alongside employment, which rose for the ninth consecutive quarter.
According to MasterCard data, retail spending by consumers in the Dublin economy continued to grow in the early stages of 2023, with a 1.6% increase compared to the previous quarter and a 5.8% increase year on year.
The report states that the quarterly spending growth was driven by increases in expenditure across all segments covered by the MasterCard SpendingPulse.
Spending on essential items saw rapid growth, increasing by 3% compared to the previous quarter, likely reflecting high food inflation.
Spending in the entertainment sector increased by 2%, while spending on household goods rose by 1.5%.
Meanwhile, Dublin’s unemployment rate slightly increased during the first three months of the year but remained at or close to ‘full employment’.
The rate of 5.1% rose by 0.4 percentage points from the previous quarter but decreased by 0.7 percentage points compared to the same time last year.
The figures indicate that over 781,400 Dublin residents were employed during the three-month period, representing a 1.2% growth from the previous quarter and a 3% growth from the same time last year.
Private services and public sector employment were the main drivers of the yearly growth, with expansion rates of 5.2% and 1.9% respectively.
Regarding property prices, the data shows that prices in the capital declined for the sixth consecutive month in March.
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Prices dropped by 0.9% compared to February, likely due to tightening credit conditions affecting buyers’ purchasing power.
Over 2,700 new units were initiated in the first quarter, indicating a year-on-year growth rate of 48.1%.
Housing completions in Dublin also saw a significant rise, with a growth of 27.6% or 571 units compared to the same period last year.
Source: RTÉ