Slight increase in local unemployment

The number of people registering as out of work in the Newtownabbey area saw a slight increase in the past month, up by four claimants.

According to the latest Labour Force Survey figures published for the month of January, the local claimant count now stands at 1,160 claimants compared to 1,156 claimants in December.

Wards in the Newtownabbey district registering the most claimants for unemployment were Valley with 101 (101 in December); Monkstown with 88 claimants (87 in December); and Dunanney with 79 (82 in December).

The Newtownabbey wards with the lowest claimant counts were Collinbridge with 22 claimants (19 in December), Ballynure with 23 claimants (23 in December) and Ballyhenry with 30 (32 in November).

In January 2018, the number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance in Northern Ireland was 28,400 (3.1% of the workforce).

This represents a decrease of 700 from the previous month’s revised figure.

The latest NI unemployment rate was below the UK average of 4.4% and was the third lowest in the UK regions.