Northern Ireland economy 'bounced back to growth'

The service sector was the biggest contributor to second quarter growth

The Northern Ireland economy bounced back to growth in the second quarter of this year, official figures suggest.

Economic output was up by 1.2% compared to the previous quarter.

That followed a weak first quarter in which declining output led some analysts to warn the economy could be entering recessionary territory.

The service sector was the biggest contributor to second quarter growth, with output increasing by 0.7 percentage points.

The statistics are measured using the Northern Ireland Composite Economic Index (NICEI).

That is roughly equivalent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

They are the most up-to-date official figures for the local economy.

Annual growth (comparing Q2 2018 with Q2 2017) was 1.6% compared with a UK GDP growth of 1.2%.