Dublin business activity surges as rest of Ireland records first drop since 2023
Dublin's business activity surged to a four-year high in early 2026, while the rest of Ireland's economy began to shrink.
The PMI survey from S&P Global for the first quarter of this year reveals Dublin as a central pillar of the economy with output and new orders showing sharp increases. Comparatively, business activity around the rest of Ireland has seen its first drop since 2023.
Dublin’s headline rate stands at 55.6 - up from 53.2 in Q4 of last year and the highest level recorded since Q2, 2022. Sitting above the 50-point threshold means Dublin is in expansion territory. However, the rest of Ireland sits at 49.7, which is just dipping into slight contraction.
In terms of sectoral performance in Dublin, the overall expansion saw accelerated growth in the construction sector (60.7) and an improvement in the manufacturing sector (59.9), with the services sector (52.4) recording a softer increase than in the previous quarter. The rest of Ireland showed a slight expansion in the services (50.7) and construction sectors (50.3), while the manufacturing sector (48.0) recorded a contraction over the period.
Speaking about the findings, Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence said Dublin acted as “growth engine” for the Irish economy in the beginning of 2026. The survey highlights much stronger growth than the end of the previous year.
“In fact, the expansion in the capital contrasted with a slight fall in business activity across the Rest of Ireland. Whether the strong performance over the opening quarter will continue into Q2 remains to be seen, with companies now having to contend with higher prices, supply-chain disruption and economic uncertainty as a result of the war in the Middle East ,” he said.
Even though Dublin is getting busier, it isn't hiring new people very fast as the Employment Index stands at a modest 51.2. Surprisingly, the rest of Ireland is actually adding jobs at a quicker pace than the capital with the index at 52.3, up from 51.7 in the previous quarter.
While Dublin’s economy looks strong for now, Mr Harker rightfully points out there are worries about the future. Tensions in the Middle East could cause further problems by pushing up fuel prices and creating issues with supply.
The S&P Global Dublin Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is a survey of business activity in Dublin calculated using responses from around 200 businesses per month across the services, manufacturing and construction sectors.
The Overall PMI is based on the output/business activity question from each survey. An index reading above 50 indicates an overall expansion in activity, below 50 an overall contraction.
This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme