Labour Market Report July 2017

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) results released at 9.30am today indicated that the unemployment rate was 5.3% (March – May 2017), unchanged over the quarter; the claimant count fell by 600 persons over the month (to June).

NISRA professional and production staff have access to this publication before release. No additional pre-release access has been given to officials from 12th July 2017.

Key Points

• The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for the period March - May 2017 indicate that over the quarter, the employment rate decreased while the unemployment rate and the economic inactivity rate were both unchanged. The number of people claiming unemployment related benefits in Northern Ireland (NI) decreased in June 2017.
• The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in work (the employment rate) decreased over the quarter (0.1 pps) and over the year (0.2 pps) to 68.7%.
• The LFS indicated that the NI unemployment rate (16+) was unchanged over the quarter to March - May 2017 but decreased by 0.6 pps over the year, to 5.3%. The equivalent UK unemployment rate was down over the quarter and over the year to 4.5%.
• The NI unemployment rate was below the European Union (7.8%) rate and Republic of Ireland (6.4%) rate for April 2017.
• The NI economic inactivity rate (the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 who were not working and not seeking or available to work) was 27.4%, unchanged over the quarter and an increase of 0.7 pps over the year.
• None of the reported changes in employment, unemployment or economic inactivity were statistically significant over the quarter or the year. However, there have been statistically significant changes in the medium term – the increase in the employment rate compared to December - February 2013; the decrease in the unemployment rate compared to December - February 2014; and the decrease in the economic inactivity rate compared to June – August 2009.
• The number of people claiming unemployment related benefits (from NI Jobs and Benefits Offices) decreased by 600 over the month to 30,500 in June 2017. This is the 16th consecutive monthly decrease.
• The number of people claiming unemployment related benefits has fallen by 34,300 since the most recent peak in February 2013.
• Full report available here

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