Dublin city's economy is performing well as the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions are relaxed, but the latest Dublin Economic Monitor shows that constraints in specific sectors are still apparent.
The Dublin Economic Monitor, produced by Grant Thornton, is published by the four Dublin Local Authorities.
The monitor shows that private sector business activity continued to increase markedly in Dublin during the fourth quarter of 2021, with growth rates in Dublin exceeding those recorded across the rest of the country.
The strongest expansion was in Dublin's manufacturing sector which showed a reading of 63.8 - a reading above 50 signifies growth.
The manufacturing sector was followed by the services sector (59.7) and construction (56.4).
But despite this robust performance across the main sectors, the overall expansion rate in business activity in the fourth quarter was softer than in the second and third quarters of 2021.
Meanwhile, retail spending in the Dublin economy recorded further growth in the last three months of the year as consumer demand remained strong.
Total retail spending in Dublin rose by 0.4% on a quarterly basis and by 5.1% on an annual basis to reach a new peak index reading of 138.5.
The most significant increase was seen in the Entertainment segment where hotels, restaurants and bars experienced quarterly expenditure growth of 14.7%.
The monitor also showed that the Dublin labour market hit a new peak with over 760,000 in work in the fourth quarter of last year with notable expansions seem in the industrial and construction sectors.
Dublin's unemployment rate also fell further to stand at 5.4%, though some fluctuation in the rate may be expected in the coming quarters as remaining PUP recipients are transferred to non-PUP state supports.
Job vacancies in Dublin also soared in February with postings on the Indeed website rising to almost 50% above pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, Dublin's hospitality sector recorded a mixed start to the New Year. Seated diners at Dublin restaurants jumped by 132.8% in the middle of February, when compared with the pre-pandemic 2019 baseline.
But both occupancy rates and average daily rates at hotels in the city fell in January.
Andrew Webb, chief economist with Grant Thornton, said that a stronger economic outlook for 2022 reflected optimistic businesses and consumers as pandemic restrictions eased more fully.
"Potential constraints to growth such as labour shortages, inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, are building and may prompt a rethink," he cautioned.
