NW has dire youth dole rate

YOUNG people from Londonderry are far more likely to be jobless than anywhere else in Northern Ireland with 1,835 people (17 per cent) of people aged between 18 and 24 out of work.

By The Newsroom

Published 13th Oct 2012, 15:42 BST

This is a staggering seven percentage points higher than the Northern Ireland average and three percentage points higher than in West and North Belfast.

Finance Minister Sammy Wilson revealed the figures in response to an Assembly Question stating that they showed the number of persons aged 18-24 claiming unemployment related benefits at August 2012.

Jobs Minister Arlene Foster recently revealed the amount of benefit claimants in Londonderry in August rose from 8.5 per cent to 8.7 per cent of working age people and in Strabane it rose from 7.3 per cent to 7.4 per cent. Dole queues remained static in Limavady at 7.1 per cent last month.

It demonstrates youth unemployment is double that for the general population.