'Foster NI's Fragile Economy' Says Minister

While the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Northern Ireland remains high, a Stormont Executive Minister has insisted, "fostering economic growth is a key priority".

The appropriately named NI Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster, said the number of those out-of-work highlights the fragile state of the recovery and the way that the recession has hit the Northern Ireland labour market.

She was commenting on the news that the number of claimants currently stands at 58,300 with a slight fall in the overall rate to 7.0% evident when the new statistics were compared to the previous quarter of March - May 2010.

However even more recent Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) figures - for September - did clearly show an increase of 500 over the month in the number of benefit claimants.

The DETI statistics also showed that output from the Northern Ireland Services sector rose by only 0.4% during the second quarter of 2010, compared to a 0.6% increase in the UK.

Output from the Northern Ireland Production sector fell by 0.5% during the same period, while at the same time, UK output increased by 1.0%.

Commenting on the figures said: "Although the figures for June-August 2010 showed little change in the Northern Ireland unemployment rate, more recent figures for September 2010 showed a further rise in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits.

"This highlights the ongoing impact that the recession has had on the Northern Ireland labour market.

"However, it was encouraging to note the increased output in the Northern Ireland Services sector during the second quarter of 2010.

"This is the third consecutive quarterly increase in the series and mirrors the pattern in the UK Services output," the DUP Executive Minister said.

"The latest increase reflects the improved performance of the Business Services & Finance sector in particular.

"Against this, the Northern Ireland Production sector showed a decrease in output of 0.5% during the second quarter of 2010.

"It is disappointing that the output gains from the first quarter have not been maintained and the latest fall means that Production output has remained relatively flat compared to this time last year," she continued, noting this highlights the fragile state of the recovery.

"Given pressures on Government expenditure, it is clear that the recovery must be led by the private sector," she continued, noting, "fostering economic growth is a key priority of the Northern Ireland Executive.

"The Executive Sub-Committee on the Economy will continue to work on developing an economic strategy and will be consulting shortly on their framework for action," she said.

"We will seek to secure from the UK Government the necessary policy levers to grow the dynamic and innovative economy."

(BMcC/GK)