Ibec has warned that two sets of statistics published by the Central Statitics Office provide further evidence of a slowing economy this year.
The January retail sales data showed retail spendig was slowing down. The CSO said retail sales slowed to 3 per cent compared with 4.4 per cent in the last quarter of 2007 and 6.9 per cent in January of last year.
The data also shows that the annual increase in manufacturing output was only 2 per cent in January, compared to 7.5 per cent during the same period last year.
Ibec's chief economist David Croughan said the figures were "somewhat distorted" by the tax changes on motor vehicles announced in Budget 2008.
"Excluding motor trades, sales were up a solid 4.8 per cent in January, though this was still markedly weaker than January 2007 and is in line with weakening consumer sentiment," Mr Croughan said.
"While it is harsh to judge a year's performance on the first month there was a slowdown in the electrical and computer sectors towards the end of 2007, which has carried over into January," he added.
Mr Croughan said the continued strength of the euro was affecting Ireland's competitiveness. Difficult trading conditions are likely to be a feature of 2008, he said.