Business confidence in the Northern Ireland economy has fallen to its lowest levels in 15 years but new Government statistics also show that the number of people unemployed in the North has dropped to a low not seen since 1975.
The Business Confidence Survey published by the Confederation of British Industry shows that a combination of factors, including the Foot and Mouth crisis had undermined companies' confidence in the North.
Ms Deirdre Stewart, assistant director of the CBI in Northern Ireland added: "The plummeting confidence in the Northern Ireland economy is undoubtedly linked to the continuing lack of political stability and apprehension about the future of the Assembly.
"The strength of sterling is a continuing problem with difficulty in obtaining labour the other major problem most frequently reported."
Latest United Kingdom Government labour survey statistics show that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Northern Ireland fell by 300 to 39,000 people last month.
According to seasonally adjusted estimates for the period May to July 46,000 people are out of work in the North.
The rate now stands at 5.9 per cent compared to 6.1 per cent in London and 6.4 per cent in Scotland.
But Sir Reg Empey, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, said there was no room for complacency.
"While on the face of it the figures are good, there can be no getting away from the fact that the global economy is suffering from the impact of a downturn in the technology sector.
"There are 1,380 redundancies in the pipeline which have been notified to my department in previous months and have yet to take place," Sir Reg said.
He said the impact of recent unrest in Northern Ireland could also seriously undermine inward investment campaigns.
"As a direct result of the street violence beamed around the world, Northern Ireland is again having to cope with the age-old problems of its image and its international credibility as a place to do business.
"These factors are bound to impact on both the short-term and the long term success of the local economy," Sir Reg warned.
But according to Mr Andrew Wilmot the founder of a Buckinghamshire-based ecommerce company, Northern Ireland is still a good place to invest.
His company, BDR Consulting, plans to invest £834,000 to set up a new systems integration campus in Belfast which could create up to 45 jobs.
