Labour force religion figures for 2005 are placed in the context of those from 1990 onwards. Religious denomination refers to only those in the survey who identified themselves as either Roman Catholic or Protestant.
Community Characteristics
The period from 1990 to 2005 saw a rise in the representation of Roman Catholics in the population as a whole. Excluding those who could not be identified as either Protestant or Roman Catholic, Protestants comprised 54% of the working age population in 2005 compared to 46% who were Roman Catholic.
In comparison to the Roman Catholic population, the Protestant population has an older age profile with, for example, more than six in ten people aged 60 or over being Protestant.
Roman Catholics experience a higher incidence of factors related to disadvantage in labour market participation or which can affect participation including: higher levels of full-time students; higher proportions living in public or privately rented accommodation; higher rates of lone parenthood and a higher incidence of families with dependent children.
Working Age Economic Activity
Protestants (76%) continue to have higher economic activity rates compared to Roman Catholics (67%). However, in terms of absolute numbers, the numbers of economically active Roman Catholics has increased by 51,000 between 1992 and 2005 compared to an increase of 7,000 for Protestants.
The difference between the two communities’ respective economic activity rates is much more marked between Roman Catholic (58%) and Protestant (71%) females than between Roman Catholic (75%) and Protestant (81%) males.
Working Age Economic Inactivity
Roman Catholics (33%) have experienced persistently higher levels of economic inactivity compared to Protestants (24%) with the difference between the two communities most marked between working age Roman Catholic females (42%) and Protestant females (29%). This difference is more than twice that between Roman Catholic males (25%) and Protestant males (19%).
The main reason for economic inactivity for both Protestants and Roman Catholics was sickness and disability. Roman Catholics more frequently cited looking after the family home and being students as reasons for economic inactivity compared to Protestants.
Within the economically inactive two groups can be identified, one group saying they do not want work (the majority) and one group saying they would like work. The proportion of economically inactive Roman Catholics who say they would like work (16%) is higher than that for Protestants (9%) although both groups have reduced in proportion over time.
Unemployment
The unemployment rates for Protestants (3%) in 2004 remained lower than that for Roman Catholics (6%), however unemployment rates have decreased significantly for both Roman Catholics and Protestants over the period 1992 – 2005 with the percentage point fall greatest for Roman Catholics.
In 2005, Roman Catholics comprised approximately six out of every ten unemployed people in Northern Ireland with 19,000 Roman Catholics unemployed compared to 12,000 Protestants.
The differential unemployment gap between the respective unemployment rates has fallen from 9% in 1992 to 4% in 2005. The unemployment differential expressed as the ratio of Roman Catholic to Protestant unemployment rates, was around 2:1 in 2005 and the magnitude of this differential has persisted between 1992 and 2005.
Employment
Overall, a higher proportion of Protestants of working age (74%) than Roman Catholics (62%) were in employment in 2005, a relative picture which has persisted over time.
The differences in rates of working age employment were more marked between Roman Catholic females (56%) and Protestant females (69%) than that between Roman Catholic males (69%) and Protestant males (78%).
In terms of absolute numbers, over the period 1992 – 2005, there has been an increase of approximately 76,000 Roman Catholics aged 16 years and over in employment and an increase of approximately 33,000 Protestants.
The religious composition of the main occupational groups broadly mirrors the religious composition of all those in employment. The concentration of each community across occupational groups is similar although a slightly higher proportion of Roman Catholics work in Professional Occupations while a slightly higher proportion of Protestants work in Administrative and Secretarial Occupations.
In terms of industrial sector worked within, the construction, hotels and restaurants, and education sectors show the largest variation from the overall employment composition in terms of a higher representation of Roman Catholics. Higher representations of Protestants in comparison to the overall employment composition occur in the agricultural hunting and forestry, financial intermediation, public administration and defence, and other community social and personal service sectors.
A higher proportion of Roman Catholics compared to Protestants, particularly Roman Catholic females, work in the public compared to private sector.
Geographical Analyses
Sub-regional analyses of Northern Ireland have been included in the report at NUTS 3 level which includes the 5 areas of: Belfast; Outer Belfast; East NI; North NI; and West and South NI.
The greatest difference in terms of both economic activity rates and employment levels between Roman Catholics and Protestants was evident in the two areas of the West and South of NI and Belfast. The lowest levels of employment and economic activity for both communities are found in the North of NI and Belfast areas.
Further information relating to the collection and production of the statistics can be obtained by contacting:
OFMDFM Equality Directorate Research Branch Block A Castle Buildings Stormont Estate Belfast BT4 3SGTel: (028) 905 23244
Fax: (028) 905 28273
Publication available on the OFMDFM website. 
Notes to Editors:
1. The Labour Force Survey
The Labour Force Survey is a sample survey conducted in all member states of the European Union. The survey had been run in Northern Ireland on an annual basis between 1984 and 1994. Since December 1994, the LFS has been conducted on a quarterly basis in Northern Ireland in line with that in the rest of the UK. The main purpose of the LFS is to obtain comparable data on the characteristics of the workforce in each country and region of the EU.
The Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment (DETI) is responsible for conducting the survey in Northern Ireland and produces a range of publications relating to the labour force in general. Analysis of the survey by religion was introduced in 1990 and is undertaken by statisticians from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
2. Sample Coverage
From Winter 1994/95 onwards, the LFS has been undertaken on a quarterly basis. The annual figures from 1995 to 2004 refer each year to the aggregation of four quarterly surveys conducted in the Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter (December, January and February of the following year). The coverage of the current report changed from the seasonal quarters above to calendar year quarters. That is, the 2005 report covers the period of the 1st January 2005 to the 31st December 2005.
