Near term prospects in the Irish retail sector are positive with solid increases in consumer spending on the back of accelerating wages and robust jobs growth, Ulster Bank has said, commenting on latest retail sales figures.
There was an annual increase of 4.3 per cent in the volume of retail sales during May compared with the same month last year, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office released earlier this week.
Ulster Bank’s assessment was that “current developments in a number of key drivers of the Irish retail sector’s performance continue to paint a positive picture of near-term prospects”.
In the bank's weekly economic commentary, chief economist Simon Barry wrote that figures showing inbound visitor numbers up 8.7 per cent year on year in May show that retail sales are "benefiting from a favourable combination of solid demand from residents and non-residents alike.
Looking ahead to next weeks jobs data, Mr Barry said he wouldn’t be surprised to see the monthly unemployment data tick lower from the 5.3 per cent recorded in May.
“With the unemployment rate quickly approaching pre-crisis levels, we will be keeping a particularly close eye on labour market indicators in the months ahead to assess how much spare capacity still exists in the labour market.”
