Lastest Labour Market figures released

Figures released today for the period May - July 2010 recorded a fall in the Northern Ireland unemployment rate to 6.8%.

More recent figures for August 2010 showed an increase of 900 over the month in the number of unemployment benefit claimants.

The total number of employee jobs in Northern Ireland was estimated at 699,230 for June 2010, representing a fall of 1,120 over the quarter.

Commenting on the figures, Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster said: “The latest labour market figures show that Northern Ireland is continuing to experience the impact of the economic downturn.  Although the rate of job losses has slowed this year, compared to last, there was still an increase of 900 in the unemployment register in August.

“The only notable increase in the number of employee jobs, during the second quarter of this year, was in the manufacturing sector.  This is a small but welcome sign of progress which demonstrates the value of exporting innovative, quality products.”

The Minister continued: “It is clear that the recovery is going to take some time. The October Spending Review will present further challenges and we need to take these fully into account as the Executive shapes its economic strategy to help deliver sustainable economic growth and prosperity. I believe that the economy must remain the number one priority for the Executive.  

“While overall public expenditure is set to decline, we must continue to focus on building the right foundations to enable sustainable growth in the private sector. Rebalancing the economy to foster the growth of the private sector will also be the subject of Treasury proposals later in the autumn. This will further inform the Executive’s economic strategy.”

Further information on the latest labour market figures is available in the Labour Market Statistical Press Release (see September 2010 Labour Market Statistics on the DETI website).

Notes to editors:

The superscript numbers throughout the bullet points refer to the relevant endnotes.

• The Northern Ireland seasonally adjusted unemployment rate², as measured by the Labour Force Survey (LFS), was estimated at 6.8% for the period May - July 2010.  This represented a decrease from the rate of 7.1%, which was recorded in the previous quarter, but was up from the rate of 6.6% recorded in the same period one year ago.  The Northern Ireland unemployment rate remained below the UK average (7.8%) and was the joint third lowest rate among the twelve UK regions. It was also below the European Union (9.6%) and Republic of Ireland (13.3%) rates for June 2010.
• The seasonally adjusted number of people claiming unemployment related benefits⁴ stood at 57,800 in August 2010 – up 900 (1.6%) over the month. This was proportionately the highest monthly increase in unemployment benefit claimants among the twelve UK regions, with the UK as a whole recording a monthly increase of 0.2%. Over the year, the Northern Ireland claimant count has increased by 10.7% (5,600), compared to a decrease of 8.5% in the UK.
• Seasonal adjusted estimates from the Quarterly Employment Survey⁶ showed that there were 699,230 employee jobs in June 2010. This represented an estimated net decrease of 1,120 over the quarter and a fall of 7,220 over the year.  The decrease over the quarter was driven by falls in the Construction sector (-690) and Service sector (-1,090) jobs, although the Manufacturing sector increased by 630 jobs.  The quarterly decline was the eighth successive decrease in the seasonally adjusted employee jobs series. However, this was the second smallest decline in employee jobs since the series peaked in June 2008 and was only 27% of the average quarterly decrease since the downturn started.
• During the last year the number of employee jobs in Northern Ireland decreased by 1.0% (7,220 jobs), which was lower than the equivalent fall in the UK (1.4%). The annual fall in Northern Ireland jobs ranked sixth lowest among the twelve UK regions.
• The seasonally adjusted number of working age⁷ persons that were economically inactive decreased by an estimated 3,000 over the quarter and the corresponding working age economic inactivity rate decreased to 28.6% (in May - July 2010).  However, the Northern Ireland inactivity rate (28.6%) remained considerably higher than the UK average rate (23.2%) and was the highest of the twelve UK regions.
• Unadjusted LFS estimates can provide information on the reason for economic inactivity. In May - July 2010 an estimated 27% of the economically inactive of working age in Northern Ireland were students, 27% were sick/disabled, 24% were looking after the family/home, 14% were retired and 8% were ‘other’ reason.
• The Department was notified of 172 confirmed redundancies^8-10 which took place in August 2010. This compared to 175 in July 2010 and 266 in August 2009.  There has been a 39% decrease in the number of confirmed redundancies over the last year to 31st August 2010 – 2,935 compared to 4,851 in the previous year.

Endnotes:

• The Labour Force Survey (LFS) measure of unemployment used in DETI labour market statistical publications is consistent with the International Labour Organisation measure. An explanation of the difference between the LFS and Claimant Count measures of unemployment can be found at the Labour Market Statistics section of the DETI website
• The official measure of unemployment is sourced to the LFS and refers to people without a job who were available for work and had either looked for work in the four weeks prior to interview or were waiting to start a job they had already obtained. This definition is consistent with that recommended by the International Labour Office. Unemployment estimates for the European Union and the Republic of Ireland are sourced to EUROSTAT.
• The figures released today contain data from a number of different sources. The unemployment, employment and economic inactivity rates are sourced to the LFS and refer to the period May - July 2010. It should be noted that the LFS figures are estimates, which are subject to sampling error. This means that the exact figure is likely to be contained in a range surrounding the estimate quoted. For example, the exact number of unemployed persons is 95% likely to fall within +/- 10,000 of the quoted estimate.
• The Claimant Count measure of unemployment relates to August 2010 and is based on claimant data from Jobs and Benefits Office Administrative Systems.
• Not all those who register for unemployment benefits meet the criteria for LFS unemployment. Conversely, not all those defined as unemployed in the LFS are eligible for unemployment benefits. Estimates of the numbers unemployed may also differ between the two sources due to timing differences.
• The employee jobs figures are sourced to the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) and refer to the position at the 7^th June 2010 (with the quarterly change measured between March 2010 and June 2010). The QES figures are estimates that are subject to sampling error.
• The ‘working age’ definition, used in the calculation of employment and economic inactivity rates, was changed in August 2010 to include those aged from 16 to 64 for both men and women. Please see here for further details.

Please note that there are no implications for the headline unemployment rate, which will continue to be based on the economically active population aged 16 and over.

1. Under the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 companies are only legally required to notify the Department of impending redundancies of 20 or more employees. Any estimates provided are therefore likely to be an underestimate of total job losses, though it is not possible to quantify the extent of the shortfall.
2. Subject to the criteria mentioned above, employers must notify the Department of a) redundancies proposed and b) redundancies confirmed. Where redundancies occur, the confirmed total provides a better indication of real job losses since all proposed redundancies do not actually take place.
3. Redundancies do not necessarily equate to job losses, for example, employees who do not qualify for a redundancy package; those on temporary contracts are not incorporated in redundancy estimates.
4. Details of sampling errors, together with more detailed statistical information and definitions of the methodology used, can be found in the Labour Market Report (LMR) bulletin, which is available on the Statistics section of the DETI website.
5. For media enquiries, please contact DETI Press Office on 028 9052 9297. Outside office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
6. General information can be obtained from Martin Monaghan, DETI Statistics Research Branch, on Tel: 028 9052 9421.