That Northern Ireland’s business community is both resilient and ambitious is something we already knew.
But it has been borne out in the latest edition of the NI Enterprise Barometer, the results of which were released at the end of November.
Despite grappling with pressures on profitability, ever-increasing costs, skills shortages, and operational challenges, some 43% of 1,014 Northern Ireland businesses reported growth in the last 12 months and 61% are forecasting growth for the year ahead.
The richness and depth of the Barometer offers us a unique longitudinal analysis of Northern Ireland’s economy, and through it, we can see that the key concerns raised by businesses are rising costs, skills gaps and vacancies, and technology and productivity concerns.
Some 88% of businesses state that the cost of raw materials has risen, with 55% stating that it has risen by more than 10%, in the last 12 months.
Eighty seven per cent report rising costs in state utilities, 85% report rising vehicle running costs and 55% report increasing borrowing costs.
Three in four businesses have also seen wages increase over the last year, with 38% of wage costs having increased by more than 10%, and 11% having increased by 30%.
Some 32% of businesses report vacancies, an increase on the 27% of 2023, and 55% of businesses state that the appropriate skills for their business have been difficult to find, with one in five finding it very difficult.
Nearly half (47%) say that they do not know where to access skills support, a welcome decrease from 53% in 2023.
While 30% of businesses rate their productivity as very good or excellent, businesses do report concerns, with 40% calling their operating efficiency satisfactory/poor and 30% rating their technological adoption as satisfactory/poor.
The Barometer’s survey closed in early November, meaning that many of the answers will have been submitted before the Budget at the end of October.
As we are all aware of how that has shaken business confidence, it is now more critical than ever that councils, Invest NI, Enterprise NI, local enterprise agencies, and the Department for the Economy work in concert to deliver targeted support where it is most needed.
Enterprise NI welcomes the endorsement from economy minister Conor Murphy of the Enterprise Barometer and welcome his statement that his Department “will feed this information into our policies and budgets for the coming year and we will continue to work with Enterprise NI to ensure that the necessary support is in place for our entrepreneurs and business owners”.
The increasing pressure on profitability requires us to act decisively to sustain the growth and resilience of our local businesses. Efforts should focus on delivering accessible, tailored services that help businesses manage costs, enhance productivity, and retain profitability. The voices of local businesses provide a clear roadmap.
The Barometer’s findings serve as both a warning and an opportunity. They call for immediate action to mitigate the challenges faced by Northern Ireland’s small businesses while amplifying the optimism and ambition of the local business community.
