The NI Chamber and Queens University Belfast Q2 2026 Quarterly Business Insights…

Hiring Activity Remains High, but Skills Shortages Continue to Constrain Growth.

The NI Chamber and Queen’s University Belfast Q2 2026 Quarterly Business Insights report highlights a Northern Ireland labour market in which demand remains strong, but persistent supply challenges are limiting employment growth.

“Recruitment activity remains high but is not translating into stronger employment growth.”

Hiring intentions remained positive during the quarter, strengthening to +29 in services and easing to +20 in manufacturing. Recruitment activity reached 90% among manufacturing businesses, while 75% of services businesses were actively hiring.

However, much of this activity appears to be focused on replacing employees rather than expanding teams. Recruitment difficulties remain exceptionally high, affecting 91% of manufacturing businesses and 78% of services businesses.

As Richard Ramsey, Professor of Practice at Queen’s Business School, observed, “skills shortages and cost pressures appear to be switched on permanently.”

For employers, the findings reinforce the importance of approaching recruitment with clarity. In a constrained market, businesses must clearly define the experience, leadership capability and cultural alignment required, before proactively identifying and engaging individuals who may not be actively searching for a new role.

The wider report presents a resilient but mixed economic picture. Northern Ireland continues to outperform many other UK regions on investment, recruitment and exports, with services remaining particularly strong. However, domestic demand is weak, manufacturing confidence has declined and labour, energy and operating costs continue to place pressure on margins.

While businesses remain willing to hire and invest, finding the right people continues to be one of the principal barriers to translating that ambition into sustainable growth.

Read the full NI Chamber and Queen’s University Belfast Q2 2026 Quarterly Business Insights report.