Labour Market Report April 2020

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates released at 7.00am today indicated that the unemployment rate for December-February 2020 (2.5%) increased over the quarter by 0.2 percentage points but remains one of the lowest on record. The inactivity rate (25.6%) was unchanged over the quarter and the employment rate (72.5%) decreased over the quarter by 0.1 percentage points.

Key Points

• The number of people on the NI claimant count (experimental) increased by 200 over the month to March 2020 to 29,900. (The reference date was the 12th March). The experimental Claimant Count includes Jobseeker’s Allowance Claimants and those claimants of Universal Credit who were claiming principally for the reason of being unemployed.
• There were 557 proposed redundancies in March 2020 and a further 712 proposed in the current month to 20th April. The department was notified of 231 confirmed redundancies in March 2020, taking the number of confirmed redundancies to 3,050 in 12 months to end of March. This is higher than the previous 12 months (2,359).
• The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for the period December-February 2020 indicate that, over the quarter, the unemployment rate increased, the employment rate decreased and the economic inactivity rate was unchanged.
• The LFS indicated that the NI unemployment rate (16+) increased over the quarter (0.2pps) and decreased over the year (0.5pps) to one of the lowest rates on record (2.5%) in December-February 2020. Although recent changes were not statistically significant, the unemployment rate was significantly below rates in 2018. The NI unemployment rate was below the UK rate (4.0%), the Republic of Ireland rate (4.8%) and the EU (27) rate (6.6%).
• The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in work (the employment rate) decreased over the quarter (0.1pps) and increased over the year (1.3pps) to one of the highest rates on record (72.5%). Although recent changes were not statistically significant, the employment rate was significantly above rates in 2018. The latest employment rate recorded for the whole of the UK was the highest on record at 76.6%.
• The NI economic inactivity rate (the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 who were not working and not seeking or available to work) was unchanged over the quarter and decreased by 0.9pps over the year to one of the lowest rates on record (25.6%). Although recent changes were not statistically significant, the economic inactivity rate was significantly below rates in 2018. The NI economic inactivity rate remained above the UK rate (20.2%), which is the lowest on record.
• The full report is available on the Labour Market Report - April 2020 page

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