NI Unemployment Falls

Northern Ireland's unemployment has continued to fall by 0.5% over the past quarter, according to the latest Labour Force Survey (LFS).

Unemployment in Northern Ireland was estimated at 7.3% for the period June - August 2013.

This is down 0.5% from the rate recorded in the previous quarter (7.8%) and 0.8% from the rate recorded one year ago (8.1%).

The Northern Ireland unemployment rate was below the UK average rate (7.7%), which has decreased by 0.1% over the quarter and by 0.2% over the year.

The NI rate was also lower than the European Union (11.0%) and Republic of Ireland (13.8%) rates for July 2013.

However, the survey also showed that 51.4% of those unemployed in Northern Ireland have been unemployed for one year or more. This is up 2.9 percentage points from one year ago.

May - July saw the NI unemployment rate for 18-24 year-olds stand at 18.8%, compared to the UK average rate of 19.4%.

The number of people claiming unemployment related benefits stood at 61,600 in September 2013 – down 600 from the previous month.

This is the eighth consecutive month in which there has been a fall in this measure of unemployment (3,300 over the period).

Estimates for the period June - August 2013 showed that there were 799,000 people in employment in Northern Ireland and that the corresponding working age employment rate was estimated to be 66.7%.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: "The continued decrease in the unemployment rate as well as the fall in unemployment benefit recipients are positive indicators, which are to be welcomed. I also note that the Ulster Bank’s Purchasing Managers’ Index recorded a third consecutive monthly increase in business activity during September.

"Last week’s Investment Conference demonstrated that Northern Ireland is a strategic investment location of choice for international investors in key growth sectors, with our highly skilled workforce being a key decision factor. Any new foreign investment and export opportunities will help to provide quality jobs and opportunities for local people, contributing to the growth of our local economy."

Danske Bank's Chief Economist Angela McGowan said: "Employment levels are reported to be up 4,000 over the year and progress such as this tends to have a knock-on impact on consumer and business confidence levels. However, beneath the headlines large disparities in labour market progress remain across District Councils in Northern Ireland. For example, in Derry-Londonderry and Strabane claimant count unemployment levels currently sit at 8.9% and 8.1% respectively. Higher unemployment levels in these areas are consistent with Danske Bank’s latest consumer confidence index, which shows that the North West region has the lowest consumer confidence levels across Northern Ireland.

"Although many economic indicators are now starting to look much healthier; much work remains to be done. Local economic policy needs to remain focused on job creation, skills and investment so that the fruits of economic progress are widely distributed across the whole of NI and across all age groups."

(IT/CD)