David Harding, Conservative Cllr for Causeway and Glens Borough Council has welcomed the news that the number of people in work across the UK remains at a record high, and the rate of women in work is at the highest level since comparable records began, showing the fundamentals of our economy remain strong. According to today’s figures there are 63,876 more people back in work in Northern Ireland since 2010.
As well as the employment continuing at a record-high, today’s figures show that the unemployment rate is holding steady, and average wages are growing ahead of inflation.
David Harding said:
‘Today sees overall employment remain at record highs, and the number of young people in work remains high, but there is more to do. I welcome the news that the number of people in Northern Ireland relying on the key out of work benefits has fallen – as businesses are able to get more people into work, helped by the decisions Conservatives have taken to strengthen our economy.’
‘But we know there is more to do to build an economy that works for everyone, and we will continue to work hard to help even more people benefit from the opportunities in our economy.
Key statistics
- Employment: 31.81 million (up 560,000 over the past year and up 2.8 million since 2010).
- Employment rate: 74.5 per cent (up 0.9 points over the past year and up 4.3 points since 2010).
- Unemployment: 1.66 million (down 118,000 over the past year and down 853,000 since 2010).
- Unemployment rate: 4.9 per cent (down 0.4 points over the past year and down 3.0 points since 2010).
- Claimant count (Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit searching for work): 776,000 in September (down 15,700 on last year and down 718,400 since 2010).
- Wages: Pay including bonuses rose 2.3 per cent over the last year with private sector pay (including bonuses) increasing 2.3 per cent.
- The female employment rate is at 69.7 per cent – close to the highest since comparable records began in 1971.
- There are over over 749,000 vacancies across the country