For more information on all things labour market, please follow the link below to our LMI portal⤵️.

Despite NI falling behind when considering economic inactivity, there are some positives to take from the latest data. As seen, over half (53%) of NI’s population 'definitely or probably' would work again when they are willing and able to - this figure is up 9% since Q2 2024

NI and the UK share somewhat similar profiles when it comes to the reasoning behind economic inactivity. However, there is one notable exception. 40% of NI’s economically inactive claim it is due to sickness, while this is only 32% across the UK

NI has always struggled when compared to the rest of the UK in regard to economic inactivity. This trend continues into the latest quarter with NI’s economic activity sitting 5.5 p.p. higher than the UK’s (23.2% versus 17.7%, respectively)

Following last weeks update of our LMI portal, the 'economic inactivity' tab is one of the many indicators which has been updated to reflect the latest data point (Q2 2025)

To find out more about the InterTrade Ireland All-Island Business Monitor, follow the link below ⬇️.

38% of RoI and NI businesses say day-to-day operations take priority over Net Zero planning in the next 3 years. Lack of incentives and upfront investments were also cited as major barriers.

However, “not at all important” responses also increased from 12% to 17%, reflecting differing business priorities around sustainability.

Between Q2 2023 and Q1 2025, the share of businesses describing sustainability and net zero as “extremely important” with respect to their priorities rose from 4% to 8%.

Over half (52%) of NI firms cite raw material costs as a concern, whilst 37% are concerned with respect to supply chain disruption. RoI firms report lower concern across the board and more confidence, with 24% reporting no impact vs just 5% in NI.

The impact of US tariffs and retaliatory measures are impacting NI firms harder than firms in the RoI across nearly all measures.

In Q1 2025, 27% of businesses reported the impact of Brexit on trading conditions as not being applicable, down from 50% in Q3 2023. 30% had adapted in full and 11% to a large extent, however those not adapting at all rose to 23%, the highest proportion on record.

13% of businesses were not profitable in Q1 2025, the highest since tracking began, reflecting growing financial pressures faced by firms.

The number of businesses reporting profitability peaked at 73% in Q4 2023. By Q1 2025, only 61% of businesses reported being profitable, while 21% broke even.

RoI respondents reported a marginally greater proportion of businesses in decline (9%) compared to NI. RoI respondents did however report a larger proportion of businesses experiencing growth (41%), whilst 47% reported stability.

The latest data from Q1 2025 shows that 8% of NI business respondents reported a decline in business position, whilst 35% reported growth and 54% were stable.

UUEPC’s Enterprise Dashboard has recently been updated to include an All Island Business Monitor, a cross-border report tracking NI and RoI business trends and performance.

UUEPC's LMI Portal, designed to track the health of the NI economy on a wide range of labour market indicators, has been updated to reflect the most recent data releases. To find out more about workforce jobs, economic inactivity and more, see below ⤵️.

If you would like to read more on the EPC's findings on business investment in NI, see the link below⤵️.

Data from the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) highlights that NI firms account for less than 1% of all private equity and venture capital investment across the UK equating to £59m or 0.3% of the UK total in 2023