Business

Northern Ireland unemployment rate falls to near record low of 2.4 per cent

The north's median monthly wage increased by 2.7 per cent (£56) to £2,110 between February and March 2023, according to the latest official data.

The north's official unemployment rate fell to 2.4 per cent in the latest quarter, closing on the record 2.3 per cent from 2019.
The north's official unemployment rate fell to 2.4 per cent in the latest quarter, closing on the record 2.3 per cent from 2019.
By Ryan McAleer

Improvements recorded in the north’s labour market during March have been described as “significant” by the official statistics agency Nisra.

Northern Ireland’s official unemployment rate fell to 2.4 per cent in the latest quarter (December to February), which was below the pre-pandemic level of 2.5 per cent three years earlier and close to the official record low of 2.3 per cent (September to November 2019). 

Rates of economic inactivity also continued to fall last month, while the proportion of people in work and the number of PAYE (pay as you earn) workers recorded by HMRC climbed 0.5 per cent in a month to 790,600.

Mark Magill of Ulster University’s Economic Policy Centre said the data showed youth employment rates (16-24 year-olds) in the north have fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, reaching the highest level for 20 years.

Meanwhile, the tight nature of the Northern Ireland labour market was reflected in the 2.7 per cent jump in the median monthly wage, which increased by £56 to £2,110 between February and March.

That left the average monthly wage in Northern Ireland 9.7 per cent higher (£177) than March 2022. But wages are still failing to match the double digit rate of inflation in the UK.

Ulster Bank’s chief economist Richard Ramsey said the median wage had increased by around 21 per cent since March 2020, the highest rate of any UK region.

But he said that is due to Northern Ireland coming from a lower base and a higher concentration of low wage jobs.

“Lower paid jobs have seen some of the biggest increases,” he added.

While it described the rising rate of employment and falling rates of economic inactivity as “statistically significant”, Nisra said those measures had yet to return to their pre-pandemic position.

The total number of hours worked in the December to February period increased by 5.6 per cent over the year, but that was still 3.2 per cent below the pre-pandemic position recorded in December-February 2020.

There was also a slight increase in the north’s official claimant count last month, which rose by 2.3 per cent to 36,200 in March, leaving it 21.2 per cent higher than March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic was declared.

The north’s claimant count last month accounted for 3.7 per cent of the total workforce, which is below the UK rate of 3.9 per cent.

The latest labour market report recorded 150 confirmed redundancies in March 2023, with another 100 job cuts proposed by employers.

Employers are only required to notify the Department for the Economy when cutting 20 or more jobs.