New business and business-activity growth in Northern Ireland both rose to five-month highs in November, though the region's economy expanded at a slower rate than the UK average, according to Ulster Bank.

While Northern Ireland's private sector economy grew for a 32nd month in a row, led by higher demand, the increase was "well down" on the UK as a whole, the bank's monthly purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed.

"The November returns show a pick-up in activity but the overall picture is still quite weak and Northern Ireland had the third-lowest reading of the UK regions," said Ulster Bank chief economist Pat McArdle.

Ulster Bank's PMI report on Northern Ireland is part of a series of regional surveys published by the Royal Bank of Scotland group and NTC Economics, one of the world's biggest providers of business research information.

Employment levels in Northern Ireland were "marginally" up last month following a decline in October. November also marked a further modest increase in backlogs of work - suggesting that the growth in economic output will be sustained until the end of the year.

Input price inflation grew in November and was above that experienced by private firms across the UK as a whole, the report showed. Cost inflation, though, at the weakest in three months, has started to ease from when energy prices were at their peak.

Business costs in Northern Ireland are relatively competitive compared to Britain and the Republic because of lower labour and property costs, a separate report from the Economic Research Institute of Northern Ireland showed yesterday.

Labour and property account for 16 per cent and 3 per cent of a company's turnover, respectively.

The cost of transport, energy and insurance is higher in Northern Ireland compared to the rest of the UK, but account for a smaller proportion of revenue.