Labour Market Report May 2020

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates released at 7.00am today indicated that the unemployment rate for January-March 2020 (2.4%) was unchanged over the quarter and remains one of the lowest on record. The inactivity rate (25.8%) and employment rate (72.4%) were also unchanged over the quarter.

Key Points

• The number of people on the NI claimant count (experimental) increased by 26,500 to 56,200 over the month to April 2020 (reference date 9th April). 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 783 proposed redundancies in April 2020 and a further 124 proposed between 1st and18th May. The department was notified of 117 confirmed redundancies in April 2020, taking the number of confirmed redundancies to 3,108 in 12 months to end of April; higher than the previous 12 months (2,112).
• Earnings from the HMRC PAYE indicated that NI employees had a median monthly pay of £1,715 in the three months to March 2020, which was an increase of 1.5% on the previous three months and an increase of 3.3% on the same time last year.
• The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for the period January-March 2020 indicate that, over the quarter, the unemployment, employment and economic inactivity rates were unchanged.
• The NI unemployment rate (16+) was unchanged over the quarter and decreased over the year (0.5pps) to one of the lowest rates on record (2.4%) in January-March 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 (3.9%), the Republic of Ireland rate (5.4%) and the EU (27) rate (6.5%).
• The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in work (the employment rate) was also unchanged over the quarter and increased over the year (1.1pps) to one of the highest rates on record (72.4%). 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 joint 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 0.7pps over the year to one of the lowest rates on record (25.8%). 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 joint lowest on record.
• The full report is available on the Labour Market Report - May 2020 page

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