Labour Market Report April 2019

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) results released at 9.30am today indicated that the unemployment rate for December-February 2019 (3.0%) decreased over the quarter by 0.5 percentage points to the joint lowest on record. The inactivity rate (26.6%) decreased over the quarter by 1.0 percentage points and the employment rate (71.2%) increased over the quarter by 1.4 percentage points to a record high.

Key Points

• The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for the period December-February 2019 indicate that over the quarter, the unemployment rate decreased while the employment rate increased and the inactivity rate decreased.
• The unemployment rate is the joint lowest on record and the employment rate is the highest on record.
• The LFS indicated that the NI unemployment rate (16+) decreased over the quarter (0.5pps) and the year (0.4pps) to 3.0% in December-February 2019. Although the recent changes were not statistically significant, the unemployment rate was significantly below rates in mid 2017. The NI unemployment rate was below the UK rate (3.9%), the Republic of Ireland rate (5.3%) and the EU rate (6.5%).
• The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in work (the employment rate) increased over the quarter (1.4pps) and increased over the year (1.8pps) to a record high of 71.2%. The quarterly change was statistically significant. The latest employment rate recorded for the whole of the UK was 76.1%.
• 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 by 1.0pps over the quarter and 1.5pps over the year to 26.6%. Although the recent changes were not statistically significant, the inactivity rate was significantly below rates in mid-2017. The latest inactivity rate recorded for the whole of the UK was 20.7%.
• The number of confirmed redundancies (2,357) in the most recent 12 months was 24% higher than in the previous 12 months (1,906). 
• The number of proposed redundancies in the last month (mid-March to mid-April) were the highest reported since late 2015.
• Full report available here

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