Opinion

New car sales create optimism

AS new car sales are often regarded as a reliable indication of the wider state of the economy, there will be considerable interest in the encouraging results reported by the industry across Northern ireland during the course of the last 12 months.

Purchases were up by more than 10 per cent as compared to 2012, with a further surge during December helping to create the best annual figures for the past four years. It would be premature to suggest that the recession is over, as many people are still under enormous financial pressure and struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis. However, if key sectors can confirm an upturn, and crucially new jobs are created as a result, there can be at least some guarded optimism about our prospects in 2014.