Dole queuesstagnate in NW

In Limavady the dole claimaint count also stagnated at 7.1 per cent. But dole queues stretched in Strabane from 7.4 per cent to 7.5 per cent of the working-age population.

Londonderry’s dole queue is, as usual, the longest per capita in Northern Ireland.

A new report on the local job market shows: “The highest rates at September 2012 were in Derry (8.7 per cent), Belfast (7.8 per cent), Strabane (7.5 per cent) and Limavady (7.1 per cent.)”

Figures were also released for the whole of Northern Ireland for June - August 2012 and show the overall unemployment rate - a different measure to claimant count - was up 1.2 percentage points over the quarter at 8.1 per cent.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: “The increase in the unemployment rate and the claimant count is, as always, disappointing. It continues to highlight the challenges faced by the Northern Ireland labour market.

“Over the quarter, provisional results from the Index of Services reported a fall of 1 per cent in real terms in output for Northern Ireland whilst the latest provisional results from the Index of Production demonstrate a five per cent fall in real terms over the quarter.

“However, I note that despite the poor performance this quarter, the NI production sector still continued to perform better than the UK over the year.”

Mrs Foster continued: “Northern Ireland is a small open economy and we cannot expect to remain unaffected by the continued uncertainty in markets around the world. In the face of these challenges, it is important that local businesses continue to look for export opportunities in the wider global economy.”