A new report suggests that the economic recovery in Northern Ireland will be fragile in 2010.
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The region's economy is expected to grow marginally more than expected but concerns remain about the strength of the recovery.
The latest 'Quarterly Sectoral Forecasts' report published by Northern Bank shows that the health of the local economy is set to improve in 2010 with the economy forecast to grow by 1.3% by the end of the year, up 0.1 percentage point from the December 2009 forecast.
The business services, retailing and manufacturing sectors, which represent over a third of the total economic output locally, are expected to grow by 2.7%, 2.3% and 1.35% respectively.
But some sectors such as the construction industry will hardly see much growth at all in 2010.
"The economy is set to grow in 2010 by about 1.3% year on year, indicating a fragile and lacklustre recovery", Northern Bank Chief Economist Angela McGowan said.
"Our latest forecasts suggest that the local economy should not slip back into recession in 2010 if policy makers manage the fine line between financial austerity and sustaining economic growth. The timing by the UK Government in terms of putting the brakes on supportive fiscal policy will be crucial."
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