THE ECONOMY shrank last year by more than previously estimated, according to revised figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The data showed gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 7.6 per cent in 2009, compared to an earlier estimate of 7.1 per cent.
The CSO’s national income and expenditure figures for 2009 also indicated that gross national product (GNP), arguably a more accurate measure of economic activity in the Republic, given the large outflow of income from foreign multinationals, fell by 10.7 per cent. This was less than the 11.3 per cent drop originally estimated by the CSO in March.
The data showed total disposable income, a measure of the amount of money available to spend and save in the economy, dropped by 15.1 per cent to € 130 billion last year.
The CSO calculated net national product, a measure of incomes, fell 14.5 per cent to €22,573 per head of population.
Agricultural incomes decreased by 24.4 per cent, while incomes outside the agricultural sector decreased by 8.6 per cent.
The figures showed personal expenditure fell by 11.1 per cent last year, or by 7 per cent when price effects were discounted.
Government expenditure dropped by 5.1 per cent, or by 4.4 per cent when price rises were taken into account.
The value of investment in construction and business equipment dropped by 37.9 per cent last year.
However, figures showed that the trade surplus widened with the value of exports exceeding imports by more than € 23 billion, a significant increase on the € 16 billion surplus recorded in 2008.
