Labour Market Report June 2021

The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates relate to February-April 2021 and indicate that, over the quarter, the employment rate increased, while the economic inactivity rate and the unemployment rate decreased.

• The number of people on the NI claimant count (experimental) decreased over the month to 54,300 in May 2021. 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.
• During May 2021, 150 redundancies were proposed and 360 were proposed in the month to date. Over the year from 1^st June 2020 to 31^st May 2021, 9,160 redundancies were proposed, almost double the previous 12 months. The department was notified of 280 confirmed redundancies in May, taking the annual total to 5,920, the highest since 2001.
• The number of employees receiving pay through HMRC PAYE in NI in May 2021 was 745,900, an increase of 0.7% over the month and 0.9% over the year. This is 0.6% below the total recorded in March 2020.
• Earnings from the HMRC PAYE indicated that NI employees had a median monthly pay of £1,810 in May 2021, a decrease of 0.8% over the month and an increase of 8.4% over the year. The median monthly pay in May 2021 was 3.7% above the value in March 2020.
• The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates relate to February-April 2021 and indicate that, over the quarter, the employment rate increased, while the economic inactivity rate and the unemployment rate decreased.
• The NI unemployment rate (16+) decreased over the quarter (0.6pps) and increased over the year (0.8pps) to 3.1% in February-April 2021. The NI unemployment rate was below the UK rate (4.7%). Neither the quarterly nor annual changes were statistically significant.
• The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in work (the employment rate) increased over the quarter (0.5pps) and decreased over the year (1.4pps) to 69.8%. The latest employment rate recorded for the whole of the UK was 75.2%. Neither the quarterly nor annual changes were statistically significant.
• 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) decreased over the quarter (0.1pps) and increased over the year (0.8pps) to 27.9%. The NI economic inactivity rate remained above the UK rate (21.0%). Neither the quarterly nor annual changes were statistically significant.
• Businesses reported that employee jobs increased over the quarter but decreased over the year to 771,410 jobs in March 2021. The quarterly increase (+0.3%) was the first seen since December 2019, following four quarters of decline. The quarterly increase in March 2021 was driven by increases in the services and manufacturing industry sectors. The annual decrease was driven by decreases across all four broad industry sectors, with the services sector experiencing the largest annual decrease (-5,860 jobs).
• The statistical bulletin and associated tables are available on the Labour Market Report - June 2021 page.

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