Episode 15 | What's another year? - January 2022

Ulster Economix - The Podcast

The podcast that keeps you up to date with what is happening economy-wise in Northern Ireland.
Listeners of a certain age may recall Johnny Logan taking to the stage in a black shirt and white suit to sing “What’s another year?” The Irish singer won the Eurovision Song Contest with that number almost 42 years ago.

Economic conditions back in 1980 were grim with high unemployment in the UK, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. And both the UK and Ireland were ‘in Europe’ in the shape of being members of the European Economic Community or the E.E.C. And there wasn’t a pandemic too

Fast forward to the start of 2021 and economic conditions were also grim. Private sector activity was falling with households and some businesses subject to lockdown restrictions. Fears of a surge in unemployment once the furlough scheme came to an end were real. Meanwhile the NI Protocol came into force and the UK was only in the early stages of vaccine rollout.