Hamilton welcomes continued employment growth
Date published:
Figures released today for the period March - May 2016 show that the Northern Ireland Labour Force Survey unemployment rate was 5.9% - a decrease of 0.5 percentage points over the quarter and 0.4 percentage points over the year.
More recent figures for June 2016 show that the number of claimants in receipt of unemployment related benefits stood at 36,700, a decrease of 600 over the month. This represents a fall of 7,200 in the unemployment claimant figures over the last 12 months.
The employment rate (69.0%) increased since the previous quarter and the year to March - May 2016, while the economic inactivity rate increased over the quarter but decreased over the year by one percentage point to 26.6%.
Commenting on the figures Economy Minister Simon Hamilton MLA said: “Our recovery has been characterised by strong employment growth and I am encouraged the latest figures indicate that this remains the case. Our unemployment rate continues on a downward trend along with a reduction in the number of people in Northern Ireland claiming unemployment related benefits, a reduction of over 7,000 people in the year to June 2016. In addition the Northern Ireland unemployment rate continues to compare favourably to the April 2016 rate for the European Union (8.7%) and Republic of Ireland (8.4%). ”
The Minister continued: “Generating more and better jobs is one of my top priorities and it is welcome that the local employment rate has now increased for the fourth consecutive quarter. Continuing to grow our private sector and making it the engine of our economy is a key goal we must focus on to turn Northern Ireland into a globally competitive economy.”
Notes to editors:
- Further information on the latest labour market figures is available on the DfE Website.
- For media enquiries, please contact DfE Press Office on 028 9052 9604. Outside office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
- General information can be obtained from Andrew Mawhinney, Economic & Labour Market Statistics Branch, on Tel: 028 9052 9668.