Jobless rate highest in province at 7.4%

The city once again posted the highest rate of dole claimants in the province. But according to the latest figures from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETINI) the percentage of working people claiming social security here rose by remained static at 7.4 per cent.

In Strabane the amount of dole claimants decreased for the second month running from 7.2 per cent down to 7.1 per cent. The rate in Limavady over the month also remained static at 7.1 per cent.

Elsewhere the areas that showed the highest percentage increase in levels over the year to March 2010 were Castlereagh (45.7 per cent), Newry & Mourne (40.0 per cent) and Newtownabbey (36.2 per cent).

Throughout Northern Ireland the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate - as measured by the Labour Force Survey (LFS) - was estimated at 6.4 per cent for the period December 2009 - February 2010.

This represented a decrease from the rate of 6.6 per cent recorded in the previous quarter, but was up from the rate of 5.9 per cent recorded in the same period one year ago.

The Northern Ireland unemployment rate was below the UK average rate (8.0 per cent) and was the joint lowest rate among the twelve UK regions. It also remained below the European Union (9.5 per cent) and Republic of Ireland (13.8 per cent) rates for January 2010.

The seasonally adjusted number of people claiming unemployment related benefits stood at 55,900 (6.3 per cent of the workforce) in March 2010 – an increase of 300 (0.5 per cent) over the month.

Northern Ireland was the only UK region to record an increase in claimant levels to March 2010, with the UK as a whole recording a decrease of 2.1 per cent.

Over the year, the Northern Ireland claimant count has increased by 25.6 per cent (11,400). The equivalent increase in the UK was 6.2 per cent, with the Northern Ireland annual increase ranking highest of the twelve UK regions.

Between December 2009 - February 2010 there were 774,000 people in employment in Northern Ireland. This estimate was up 1.1 per cent over the quarter and 2.2 per cent over the year. Unadjusted figures show that the majority of the annual increase in employment levels occurred in part-time work.