Just 21 jobs for every 1k people last year

Just 2,349 jobs (21.4 for every 1,000 people living in Londonderry) were notified at job centres throughout the whole year.

This was utterly dwarfed by 14,778 job notifications in Belfast (55 vacancies for every 1,000 people).

In 2009/10 there were 3,412 vacancies (31.1 per 1,000) and in 2008/9 there were 3,021 vacancies (27.7 per 1,000) in Londonderry, which appears more encouraging.

But over these same two years respectively Belfast had 17,596 (65.6 per 1,000) and 25,552 (95.2 per 1,000) underlining the massive jobs divide between East and West in Northern Ireland.

According to the newly-published ‘Vacancies in Northern Ireland: Statistics from 2008 to 2011’ from the Department of Employment and Learning (DEL): “The number of vacancies notified in Belfast fell from 95 vacancies per 1,000 resident population in 2008/09 to 55 per 1,000 resident population in 2010/11. “However, notified vacancies have been consistently most prevalent in Belfast with around one third of all vacancies being notified in Belfast. Similarly, approximately 30 per cent of the total unfilled and live unfilled vacancies were in Belfast in June 2011.”

But even smaller market towns, districts and greater Belfast suburbs like Antrim (25.5 per 1,000 people), Armagh (22.1 per 1,000 people), Ballymena (22.8 per 1,000 people), Coleraine (32.2 per 1,000 people), Craigavon (26.7 per 1,000 people), Lisburn (22.2 per 1,000 people) and North Down (28.6 per 1,000) recorded more vacancies per head than Londonderry.

The low level of job vacancies was reflected across the North West. In Limavady there were 18.1 per 1,000 in 2008/9; 21.1 per 1,000 in 2009/10; and 16.6 per 1,000 in 2010/11. In Strabane there were just 10.8, 10.9 and 12.9 over the three years respectively.

Londonderry’s level of job vacancies was in the second lowest quintile possible with between 20 and 40 vacancies per 1,000 residents.

DEL states: “The Statistical Bulletin, published annually, presents key information on vacancies which have been notified to Job Centres/Jobs & Benefits offices (JBO) of the Department for Employment and Learning.

“The statistics do not represent the total unsatisfied demand for staff by employers within Northern Ireland, but are only those vacant positions notified by employers to the Department for Employment and Learning.”