TRACKING DUBLIN’S PERFORMANCE

The Dublin City Region plays a pivitol role in the economy of Ireland. The Dublin Economic Monitor tracks the capital’s performance quarterly to provide insightful data.

READ THE MONITORS

September 2020

Deep and widespread implications of Covid-19 cause a collapse in Dublin’s economic activity.

May 2020

Covid-19 shuts down Dublin’s economy and accelerates digitalisation. Latest economic data on the capital.

February 2020

In this new decade discover how Dublin’s economy is performing and the key challenges for the years ahead.

  • “Restrictions on bricks and mortar retail activity contributed to declines in retail sales growth rates in Q2 2020 across both Dublin and Ireland. Sectoral divergences were stark with discretionary spending under extreme pressure while expenditure on necessities surged.”

    Michael McNamara, Global Head of SpendingPulse, Mastercard

  • “The latest Dublin PMI highlights the severe impact that the Covid-19 outbreak and associated lockdown had on the Capital’s private sector. The declines in output and new orders during the quarter exceeded even those seen during the worst of the global financial crisis in late-2008. Services was the worst affected across the three sectors covered by the survey.”

    Andrew Harker, Economics Director, IHS Markit

  • “Q2 has brought the deep impact of the economic shutdown into sharp focus. Key indicators of the economic health of the city all displayed dramatic downturns. Employment levels in Dublin fell, business activity contracted markedly, while travel patterns in to and around the city region also declined significantly.”

    Andrew Webb, Chief Economist, Grant Thornton

HIGHLIGHTS

BUSINESS ACTIVITY

as captured by the IHS Markit PMI, contracted at the most severe rate on record in Q2 2020. Both new order levels and employment in Dublin firms declined substantially as the Capital fared worse than the rest of the country.

EMPLOYMENT LEVELS

in Dublin fell by over 33,000 YoY in Q2 2020 with particularly acute reductions in the accommodation & food and transport & storage sectors. Unemployment rose to 5.3% in the quarter, though it is likely to be closer to the current national COVID-19 adjusted rate of 15.4%.

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY PRICES

in the Capital fell for a second consecutive quarter as transaction levels in the market receded. Construction activity also contracted in Q2 and will be expected to further affect housing supply in the coming quarters.

OFFICE VACANCY RATES

increased in both Dublin 2/4 and the Capital’s suburbs with many proposed transactions delayed or cancelled due to Covid-19.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT USAGE

fell by over 76% YoY to 14 million passenger trips in Q2 2020. All four modes of public transport in Dublin were impacted by both domestic travel restrictions and trends towards remote working.

PASSENGER THROUGHPUT AT DUBLIN AIRPORT

contracted from 6.7 million in Q1 2020 to just 156,000 in Q2 as international travel restrictions severely disrupted passenger movements, though there has been evidence of renewed activity in the third quarter.

ACTIVITY AT DUBLIN PORT

continued to decline in the second quarter of 2020, falling by over 17% YoY. Imports were most strongly affected and reduced by more than 20% YoY.

OCCUPANCY RATES IN DUBLIN HOTELS

returned to growth in July 2020 but remained very low at 16.1%. Average daily rates for rooms remain over 40% below the same point in 2019.

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