Labour Market Report October 2018

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) results released at 9.30am today indicated that the unemployment rate was 4.3% (June-August 2018); an increase over the quarter. The inactivity rate (27.5%) was unchanged and the employment rate (69.2%) decreased over the quarter.

Key Points 

• The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for the period June-August 2018 indicate that, over the quarter, the employment rate decreased while the unemployment rate increased. There was no change in the economic inactivity rate over the quarter. The number of people on the Northern Ireland claimant count (experimental) decreased in September 2018.
• The LFS indicated that the NI unemployment rate (16+) increased over the quarter and decreased over the year to 4.3% in June-August 2018. Although the quarterly and annual changes were not statistically significant, the decrease from the beginning of 2016 is significant.
• The UK unemployment rate (4.0%) decreased over the quarter and over the year to its joint lowest rate on record. The NI unemployment rate was higher than the UK unemployment rate, but below the European Union (6.8%) and Republic of Ireland (5.9%) rates (July 2018).
• The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in work (the employment rate) decreased over the quarter (0.6pps) and increased over the year (0.8 pps) to 69.2%. Although the quarterly and annual changes were not statistically significant, the increase from 2013 is significant. The UK employment rate was 75.5%.
• 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 over the year to 27.5%. Although neither the annual nor quarterly changes were statistically significant, the decrease from 2009 is significant. The UK economic inactivity rate was 21.2%.
• The number of people on the NI claimant count (experimental) decreased by 100 over the month to 28,100 in September 2018. Please note these figures include Jobseeker’s Allowance Claimants and those claimants of Universal Credit who were claiming it principally for the reason of being unemployed.
• Between mid-September and mid-October there were 729 proposed redundancies.
• Full report available here

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