Business

Jobless total down 1,000 but economic inactivity persists

The north's jobless total was down by 1,000 in October
The north's jobless total was down by 1,000 in October The north's jobless total was down by 1,000 in October

THE number of people claiming unemployment related benefits in Northern Ireland fell by 1,000 in October, according to figures in the government's latest Labour Force Survey.

It leaves the total claiming benefits at 39,700, which is down 11,900 over the year and is the the largest annual percentage decrease (23.1 per cent) since October 1997.

The unemployment rate at 5.9 per cent is a decrease of 0.6 percentage points over the July - September quarter and below that in the UK (5.3 per cent), European Union (9.5 per cent) and the Republic of Ireland (9.5 per cent).

The economic inactivity rate (27.7 per cent) increased over the quarter and year (by 0.3 and 0.6 percentage points respectively).

Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell said: "While I recognise it has been a difficult time, these figures do contain positive messages from key labour market indicators. Both the unemployment rate and the number of unemployment benefit claimants have decreased over the quarter and the year.

“But economic inactivity continued to increase over both the quarter, and the year, and this continues to be a persistent issue for our economy."

He added: “The figures show that although there are positive signals of growth in the local economy overall, it is important that this continues through encouraging research and development, expanding existing markets and promoting inward investment."

Full information on the labour market figures is available at https://www.detini.gov.uk/articles/economic-overview)