Unemployment Below UK Average - But Rising

There has been a rise in the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in Northern Ireland with the statistics showing that it has risen to 58,600, a monthly increase of 400 in October.

This was the highest monthly rise in the number claiming unemployment benefits in all 12 UK regions.

Over the year, the NI claimant count has increased by almost nine per cent compared to a fall of 10% in the UK.

However, in counterpoint, the unemployment rate remained below the UK average (7.7%) and was the fourth lowest rate among the UK regions. It was also below the European Union (9.6%) and Republic of Ireland (13.9%) rates for August 2010.

Specifically, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, as measured by the Labour Force Survey (LFS), was estimated at 7.0% for the period July - September 2010.

This represented an increase from the rate of 6.6%, recorded in the previous quarter, but was down slightly from the rate one year ago (7.1%).

The seasonally adjusted number of people claiming unemployment related benefits stood at 58,600 in October 2010 - up 400 (0.7%) from the revised figure for the previous month.

Over the year, the Northern Ireland claimant count has increased by 8.9% (4,800), compared to a decrease of 10.0% in the UK.

Seasonally adjusted estimates for the period July - September 2010 showed that there were 778,000 people in employment in Northern Ireland.

This estimate was unchanged from the previous quarter and increased by 3.4% over the year.

The seasonally adjusted number of working age persons that were economically inactive was unchanged over the quarter and the corresponding working age economic inactivity rate was also unchanged at 28.8% (in July - September 2010).

The Northern Ireland inactivity rate (28.8%) remained considerably higher than the UK average rate (23.2%) and was also the highest of the UK regions.

Unadjusted LFS estimates can provide information on the reason for economic inactivity.

In July - September 2010 an estimated 27% of the economically inactive of working age in Northern Ireland were sick/disabled, 27% were students, 25% were looking after the family/home, 13% were retired and 8% were 'other' reason.

The Department was notified of 116 confirmed redundancies which took place in October 2010. This compared to 191 in September 2010 and 286 in October 2009. There has been a 46% decrease in the number of confirmed redundancies over the last year to 31st October 2010 - 2,480 compared to 4,576 in the previous year.

Commenting on the figures, Stormont Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster (pictured) said: "It was disappointing to note the rise in unemployment levels reported in the latest set of statistics.

"The Northern Ireland labour market is still feeling the effects of the scale of the recent recession, as well as the continued weakness of the Republic of Ireland economy.

"However, it should be noted that the magnitude of the increase in unemployed claimants has slowed considerably in Northern Ireland during the last year.

"The average monthly increase was 400 during this period and this compares with an average monthly increase of some 1,900 persons during the previous 12 months. In addition, the latest Northern Ireland unemployment rate of 7.0% remained below the UK (7.7%), Republic of Ireland (13.9%) and European Union (9.6%) rates."

The Minister continued: "The upcoming draft Budget needs to take account of the fact that we have to preserve the private sector's capacity to be the engine of growth for the future, in so far as this is possible.

"My focus is to ensure that businesses have the support they need to develop the high value added products and services necessary to achieve this. The new budget has to reflect the fact that the economy and private sector growth remain the number one priority for Government."

(BMcC/GK)