14/11/2012

Foster Plays Down Unemployment Figures

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has played down new statistics that show the unemployment rate in Northern Ireland increased in October.

The latest labour market figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA) show that, while unemployment remained unchanged for the July-September quarter at 7.6%, the number of claimants in October increased by 600 from the previous month.

The Enterprise Minister said: “While these figures reflect the current economic climate, they also show that the Northern Ireland unemployment rate (7.6%) is below that of the UK (7.8%), the European Union (10.5%) and the Republic of Ireland (15.0%).

She added: "Rebalancing the economy towards more productive jobs remains a key priority for my Department and Invest Northern Ireland. The recently announced Economy and Jobs initiative is also important in that it provides further support to hard pressed businesses to access the specialist expertise needed to grow output.

"We are also encouraging businesses to avail of the undoubted pool of experience available among those who have been out of work for over a year or those who are aged over 50."

Ms Foster was speaking from China, where she is currently promoting tourism on a trade mission with the First and deputy First Ministers and Agricultural Minister Michelle O’Neill.

"A number of our local companies are already developing their business in China, but there is huge potential for many more to do so in this dynamic marketplace," she said.

"Invest Northern Ireland is currently assisting many firms across a range of sectors to succeed in China and this week 35 local companies are working to show the Chinese market what they are capable of.

"I will continue to press ahead with existing Invest Northern Ireland programmes to support export-led growth."

(IT)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

20 February 2013
NI Unemployment Increases
Northern Ireland's unemployment rate increased marginally by 0.2% over the period of October – December 2012. The current figure now stands at 7.8%. But figures for January 2013 show the number of unemployment benefit claimants remained unchanged from the previous month’s figure. The Labour Force survey found that 58.
17 February 2016
Unemployment Decreases In Last Quarter Of 2015
New figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency, have revealed a "marginal decrease" in unemployment for the period October – December, 2015. Key findings of the Labour Market Report, published today, include: • Over the quarter and the year, the employment rate increased and the economic inactivity rate decreased.
20 January 2016
Drop In Number Of People Claiming Unemployment Benefits
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Northern Ireland has dropped to 38,700, a decrease of 500 over the month. New figures released for the period September to November 2015 show that the Northern Ireland Labour Force Survey unemployment rate was 5.9%, a drop of 0.1% over the quarter.
16 May 2012
NI Unemployment Rate Down 0.5%
Figures released today for the period January - March 2012 show that the Northern Ireland unemployment rate was down 0.5 percentage points over the quarter at 6.7%.
12 September 2001
Unemployment figures give rise to economic warning
New unemployment figures published on Wednesday 12 September show that 5.9 per cent of the Northern Ireland workforce is currently unemployed. This represents a fall of 0.3 per cent on figures for the previous year.