Half of Northern Ireland’s construction firms have made redundancies

Half of Northern Ireland’s construction firms made redundancies in the two years up to November 2009, according to a new report.

The research, which will be presented at Stormont today, outlines what effect the recession has had on quantity surveyors, architects and civil engineers.

Dr Lynda Martin of the Northern Ireland Construction Industry Council said: "The research conducted and evidence compiled for this report has been crucial in order for the industry to understand the problems hampering economic growth and to plan for a successful and sustainable future.

"The construction industry is expected to remain in recession this year, albeit with a much shorter fall in activity than was witnessed in 2009, before returning to modest growth in 2011.

"The recovery process will be slow and 2012 employment is projected to still be nearly 11% below the 2008 peak."