1,214 locals now without a job

The number of people registering as out of work in Ballymena saw another small decrease last month, down 22 claimants.
Ballymena Town Hall at the Braid.Ballymena Town Hall at the Braid.
Ballymena Town Hall at the Braid.

According to the latest figures from the NI Statistics and Research Agency, the local claimant count now stands at 1,214, compared to 1,236 in March.

Wards within the area registering the most claimants for unemployment in April were - Ballee with 98 (93 in March), Ballykeel with 94 (101), Dunclug 88 (99), and Castle Demesne 88 (89 in March).

The lowest claimant count last month was to be found in both Craigywarren and Galgorm, each with 19 compared to 16 and 20 claimants, respectively, in March.

The jobless total also fell province-wide and now stands at 44,300.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefit here fell by a further 900 in April.

It is the 28th consecutive month there has been a fall in the claimant count.

Over the last 12 months, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit has fallen by almost 12,000.

The Northern Ireland jobs market has recovered in parallel with the UK as a whole.

However, the Northern Ireland performance has been weaker than the UK average.

The annual drop in jobseekers claimants in Northern Ireland was 20.9%, which was the lowest decrease of the 12 UK regions.