Northern Economy, Finance, Industry and Trade *Ireland is currently enjoying a period of economic growth, with output and employment rising and unemployment falling. *Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is defined as the sum of all incomes earned from productive activity. GDP per head is taken to be a good indication of a region's relative prosperity and since 1989, GDP per head in Northern Ireland increased almost by 58%. This compares with a 49.9% increase in the UK as a …showed first 75 words of 932 total…

…showed last 75 words of 932 total…section. *The number of females in the Northern Ireland workforce is growing rapidly, at a much faster rate than that of males. Since 1978, the number of females in employment has increased by 71,000 while the number of males has increased by only 30,000. *The number of females employed tends to be strongest in the areas of services, health and social work, and education, while men still tend to dominate areas such as the manufacturing and construction industries.