Empey warns North Belfast unrest threatens local economy

The ongoing violence in North Belfast is threatening the Northern Ireland economy and the opportunity to attract new investments and jobs, Sir Reg Empey, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment has warned.

Sir Reg delivered his statement as the latest unemployment and manufacturing output statistics were published. He said: “Events in North Belfast are threatening the economy at a time when Northern Ireland can ill-afford to be at any disadvantage in competing globally to attract new investments and jobs.

“The latest figures show a modest increase in unemployment. There are now 48,000 persons unemployed, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition, which is 6.3 per cent of the Northern Ireland workforce, a rise of 0.4 percentage points on the seasonally adjusted rate recorded for the same period last year, and a rise of 0.3 percentage points from the last quarter.”

However, Sir Reg said the increase in unemployment came as no surprise. He added: “I have anticipated for several months now that unemployment will increase and the changes reported this quarter, although marginal, demonstrate that our local economy is being placed under increased pressure from global events and trends.

“This means that we must try harder and harder to protect jobs and create new employment. The perpetrators of violence and threats in North Belfast will seriously damage such efforts. I would strongly encourage all who have influence to work to prevent further unrest.”

The latest estimates of manufacturing output (for Quarter 3, covering the period between July and October 2001) shows a fall of 0.7 per cent, compared with the previous quarter and a decrease of 4.6 per cent on the same period last year. Although Northern Ireland has performed favourably in comparison with the rest of the UK during the time period, UK output has decreased by just over 3 per cent over the year. This is also the second successive quarter during which Northern Ireland manufacturing output has fallen.

In conclusion, Sir Reg warned: “As world markets become tighter and inward investment becomes more difficult to achieve, what we need least at present in Northern Ireland are the current images of unrest which are being transmitted across the world.” (KMcA)