THE Northern Ireland unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level on record according to the latest Labour Force Survey.
The new government figures reveal an unemployment rate of 3.1 per cent for the first three months of 2018, down 0.8 per cent on the previous quarter and 3.1 per cent over the year. It also remains below the UK rate of 4.2 per cent.
The number of those in employment has increased according to the new figures, with the rate of 69.7 per cent a jump of 1 per cent over the quarter and 1.3 per cent over the year. The rise in the Northern Ireland rate comes as UK employment levels (75.6 per cent) were the highest on record for the first three months of 2018.
The north's economic inactivity rate (the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 who were not working and not seeking or available to work) also dropped marginally to 28 per cent, representing a fall of 0.4 per cent over the quarter and 0.3 per cent over the year.
