18/07/2012

Unemployment Up In NI

Unemployment has risen again in Northern Ireland, according to a new report.

400 new people signed on Jobseekers' Allowance here last month and joblessness is now running at 6.9% in Northern Ireland.

This is in contrast to the UK as a whole, where unemployment has fallen.

Figures for the Office for National Statistics show that the number of people out of work in the UK fell by 65,000 to 2.58m in the three months to May.

But the overall figure for unemployment in the UK is still higher than Northern Ireland's, at 8.1%.

And Northern Ireland is still well ahead of the EU, where the unemployment rate is 10.3%, and the Republic of Ireland, where 14.2% of people are out of work.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster had little comment to make on the unemployment figures, other than to say they "showed little quarterly change" and "still compared favourably".

Over the past year, the number of people signing on the dole in Northern Ireland has risen by 3,200.

And youth unemployment in Northern Ireland has risen quicker than in any other UK region.

(NE)

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