Northern Ireland services sector continues to grow in the second quarter of 2026
Date published:
The Northern Ireland Index of Services (IOS) for Quarter 2 2026 (April to June), published today by NISRA, shows continued growth in the Northern Ireland services sector.
Key findings
- Output for Northern Ireland's services industries grew by 0.8% in the second quarter of 2026 (April to June), to reach a new series high. Over the same period, output for UK services industries grew by 0.5%, also reaching a new series high.
- Since April to June 2025, output for the Northern Ireland services sector has grown by 0.7%, while output for the UK services sector has grown by 1.6%.
- In the second quarter of 2026, there was growth in the financial and business services sector (1.3%), the wholesale, retail, accommodation and food services sector (1.2%), and the transport, storage, and communications sector (1.1%). In contrast, output in the other services sector (education, health, arts) decreased by 0.8%.
- Compared to the same quarter last year, output has increased for the business services and finance sector (4.3%) and the transport, storage and communications sector (2.4%). This has been partly offset by decreases for the wholesale, retail, accommodation and food services sector (-1.2%), and the other services sector (education, health, arts) (-0.3%).
- Output for Northern Ireland’s services industries is now 11.7% higher than it was before the pandemic (Quarter 4 2019). This compares to 8.7% growth for UK services industries since the pandemic.
- Retail sales in Northern Ireland fell by 1.0% over the quarter and by 2.0% over the year. Northern Ireland's retail sector has shown greater growth since the pandemic than Great Britain. Output for Northern Ireland’s retail sector is now 2.1% above its pre-pandemic level, while output for Great Britain's retail sector is still 0.5% below where it was before the pandemic.
About this publication
The quarterly Northern Ireland Index of Services (IOS) which is an Accredited Official Statistic provides a timely indicator of change in the volume of output within private sector services industries in Northern Ireland. Estimates are presented as constant prices and seasonally adjusted to provide better estimates of the overall trend. These estimates are calculated from the IOS element of the Quarterly Business Survey (QBS). This element has a sample size of approximately 3,700 businesses and covers four broad industry sectors:
- Business and financial services (SIC 07 Section KLMN)
- Wholesale, retail, accommodation and food services (SIC 07 Section GI)
- Other services (education, health & social work, arts, recreation) (SIC 07 Section PQRS)
- Transport, storage, information and communications (SIC 07 Section HJ)
The publication also includes the quarterly Northern Ireland Retail Sales Index (RSI) which is an official statistic in development. The RSI is a subset of the IOS and provides a timely indicator of change in the volume of output within the private retail service industries in Northern Ireland (NI). The retail sales sector refers to SIC 47 (Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles).
Further information
Read the full report: Northern Ireland Quarterly Index of Services
View background information and data tables: Index of Services