12/06/2008

Good News On NI Jobs

The latest figures show that the number of jobs in Northern Ireland rose to the highest figure on record in March 2008.

The unemployment rate has decreased over the quarter (February-April 2008) and remains below the UK average.

Seasonally adjusted figures from the Quarterly Employment Survey estimated that there were 722,120 employee jobs filled in March 2008, representing a net increase of 1,380 over the quarter and an increase of 10,630 over the year.

The overall increase over the quarter was driven by rises in Service Sector jobs (+1,570) and manufacturing jobs (+70), however there was a decrease in construction jobs (-230) over the same period.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Northern Ireland was estimated at 3.9% for the period February - April 2008.

This represents a slight decrease from both the rate recorded in the previous quarter (4.4%) and from the rate for the same period one year ago (4.0%).

The Northern Ireland unemployment rate remains below the UK average (5.3%) and is also considerably lower than the European Union rate (6.7%) for March 2008.

The number of people claiming unemployment related benefits in May 2008 stands at 24,700. This shows an increase of 200 from the previous month and an increase of 800 over the last three months. However, there were still 100 fewer persons claiming unemployment benefits in May 2008 than one year ago.

Commenting on the figures, the Economy Minister Arlene Foster said: "Given the well-documented downturn that currently looms over the world economy, it is encouraging to see continued jobs growth in Northern Ireland in the first quarter of the year."

(BMcC)

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