Unemployment Rate Remains At 6.8%

The rate of unemployment in Northern Ireland has been reported to be at 6.8%, remaining unchanged from the previous quarter.

According to study by the Labour Force Survey (LFS) this is still a drop from the unemployment figure recorded one year ago at 7.3%.

The Northern Ireland unemployment rate also remained below the UK average rate (8.3%) and was lower than the European Union (10.1%) and Republic of Ireland (14.8%) rates for January 2012.

The LFS estimates for December 2011 to February 2012 show that 44.7% of those unemployed in Northern Ireland have been unemployed for one year or more. This is down 2.5% from one year ago. They also record the unemployment rate for 18-24 year olds at 17.0%, down 3.2% over the year.

Northern Bank Chief Economist Angela McGowan said: "Without doubt there is some relatively positive news stemming from Northern Ireland’s latest labour market data. Unemployment levels appear to be relatively well contained but in particular it is great to see that there has been a fall of 3.2 per cent in our youth unemployment rate.

"The Department of Employment and Learning must be given credit for the support measures they have put in place to help jobseekers to find work and although we have seen improvements, there is still a lot more to be done, particularly for the long-term unemployed.

"Indeed, when active labour market policies are so critical to Northern Ireland’s economic recovery process, questions need to be raised around why a department which provides these much needed services and programmes, which are aimed at helping the long-term unemployed and young people into work, will be axed."

(LB)