It is still too early to be certain an economic recovery is under way in Northern Ireland, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has warned.

There have been economic indications that the worst of the recession may be over, but speaking after co-chairing a meeting of the economic task force Mr McGuinness made clear he did not want people to think everything was rosy.

"We need to be cautious about making definite statements that an economic recovery is now in progress," he said.

"Whilst there are some very positive signs, it is still too early to say for definite that the worst of the recession is over," he added.

The third meeting of the Cross Sector Advisory Forum - set up by ministers as an economic task force earlier this year to provide advice and ideas to map a path through the current economic crisis - provided an update on the implementation of the measures announced as part of the Executive's credit crunch package last December.

Mr McGuinness said: "We are still facing some challenging times and this meeting of the Forum is an ideal opportunity for us to gather further ideas."

First Minister Peter Robinson added that the ministers had recently undertaken a review of the package of measures announced last December to help sustain the economy.

While the Executive had delivered on what was promised he said there were "still some items that are a work in progress but these are being pursued and we will deliver".