The Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency released economic data today confirming growth in production but contraction in retail trade.

Output from the manufacturing and industrial sectors rose by 2.9% during the three months ending June, marking a quarterly improvement.

When measured against the same period last year, production output grew by 7.8%, indicating sustained expansion in that vital part of the economy.

Conversely, sales of goods to consumers declined by 1.0% in the quarter and slipped further to fall 2.0% over the twelve months.

The NI Retail Sales Index recorded this downturn, reflecting weaker consumer spending power across the region.

In contrast, the services industry demonstrated resilience with the NI Index of Services climbing 0.8% in the quarter and 0.7% annually.

This sector achieved a new high point for the series during the second quarter, outperforming its British counterpart which also hit a record level.

The Department for the Economy noted that these figures were compiled by NISRA on its behalf to monitor regional economic health.

Employment data revealed a significant reduction in job losses, with 130 redundancies confirmed for August alone.

This brings the total number of staff cuts recorded this year to 1,360, which is over forty-four percent fewer than the 2,430 lost last year.

The drop in annual redundancies represents a considerable improvement in labour market stability compared to the previous twelve months.

Despite the reduction in job losses, the number of individuals receiving pay through HMRC PAYE remained at 819,200 for August.

This figure represented a slight monthly decline of 0.1% but an increase of 0.8% when compared to the same month last year.

Median earnings among these employees also rose over the year, suggesting improved income levels despite the broader economic fluctuations.

Analysts will now examine whether the divergence between services growth and retail weakness signals a shift in regional consumption patterns.

No further immediate action was announced by officials regarding the statistical findings or the employment figures released.

The data remains subject to standard verification processes before being incorporated into broader economic forecasts for the region.