Fall in number of jobless in North

THE NUMBER of people out of work in Northern Ireland fell by 6,000 from February to April of this year mirroring a UK-wide drop in unemployment figures.

In the three months to April, the number of people out of work in the North was estimated to be 61,000.

Latest labour market statistics show that across the UK as a whole the total jobless figure decreased by 88,000 in the same period to 2.43 million.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said the rise in jobs during the first quarter was “encouraging”.

“This increase was driven by a rise in opportunities within the service sector. It is also pleasing to note the fall in the unemployment rate during the latest quarter,” she said. “The Northern Ireland rate (7.2 per cent) remains below the UK rate of 7.7 per cent and compares favourably to the rates in the Republic of Ireland (14. 7 per cent) and EU (9.5 per cent).”

While the latest figures may show welcome signs of job creation in the North, there was also fresh evidence that local firms are still struggling to cope with a difficult trading environment which is in turn resulting in job losses.

During May the number of people claiming jobless benefits rose sharply to a high of 59,500 or 6.7 per cent of the workforce.

Communities which have seen the big increases this year in the number of local people joining dole queues include Ards, Armagh and Banbridge.

The recent upward pattern reflects the trend throughout the UK where the overall claimant count increased by 19,600 to 1.49 million people.