Labour Market Report September 2019

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) results released at 9.30am today indicated that the unemployment rate for May-July 2019 (2.8%) decreased over the quarter by 0.3 percentage points to a record low. The inactivity rate (25.8%) decreased over the quarter by 0.5 percentage points and the employment rate (72.0%) increased over the quarter by 0.7 percentage points.

Private sector employee jobs increased over the quarter (to June) to their highest level on record; public sector jobs also increased over the quarter.

Key Points

• The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for the period May-July 2019 indicate that, over the quarter, the unemployment rate and economic inactivity rate decreased while the employment rate increased.
• The LFS indicated that the NI unemployment rate (16+) decreased over the quarter (0.3pps) and over the year (0.9pps) to 2.8% in May-July 2019, the lowest on record. Although the recent changes were not statistically significant, the unemployment rate was significantly below rates in mid-2017. The NI unemployment rate was below the UK rate (3.8%), the Republic of Ireland rate (4.6%) and the EU rate (6.3%).
• The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in work (the employment rate) increased over the quarter (0.7pps) and the year (2.0pps) to 72.0%, the second highest on record. Although recent changes were not statistically significant, the employment rate was significantly above rates in mid-2018. The latest employment rate recorded for the whole of the UK (76.1%) was the joint highest rate on record.
• 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) decreased by 0.5pps over the quarter and by 1.3pps over the year to 25.8% (the fourth lowest on record). Although recent changes were not statistically significant, the economic inactivity rate was significantly below rates in late-2017. The NI economic inactivity rate remained above the UK rate (20.8%).
• The total number of seasonally adjusted employee jobs in June 2019 was estimated at a record high of 778,890. This was an increase of 1,380 jobs over the quarter and 14,020 jobs over the year.
• The number of confirmed redundancies (1,777) in the most recent 12 months was lower than the previous 12 months (2,881). There were 121 confirmed redundancies notified to the Department in August 2019, an increase from the total of 109 notified in July 2019.
• Full report available here

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