Labour Market Report October 2019

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) results released at 9.30am today indicated that the unemployment rate for June-August 2019 (2.9%) decreased over the quarter by 0.2 percentage points. The inactivity rate (26.4%) increased over the quarter by 0.4 percentage points and the employment rate (71.5%) decreased over the quarter by 0.3 percentage points.

Key Points

• The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for the period June-August 2019 indicate that, over the quarter, the unemployment rate and employment rate decreased while the economic inactivity rate increased.
• The LFS indicated that the NI unemployment rate (16+) decreased over the quarter (0.2pps) and over the year (1.1pps) to one of the lowest rates on record (2.9%) in June-August 2019. The annual change was statistically significant. The NI unemployment rate was below the UK rate (3.9%), the Republic of Ireland rate (5.3%) and the EU rate (6.3%).
• The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in work (the employment rate) decreased over the quarter (0.3pps) and increased over the year (1.7pps) to 71.5%. Although recent changes were not statistically significant, the employment rate was significantly above rates in late-2017. The latest employment rate recorded for the whole of the UK was 75.9%.
• 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) increased by 0.4pps over the quarter and decreased by 0.9pps over the year to 26.4%. Although recent changes were not statistically significant, the economic inactivity rate was significantly below rates in mid-2017. The NI economic inactivity rate remained above the UK rate (21.0%).
• There were 1,452 proposed redundancies and 286 confirmed redundancies notified to the Department in September 2019. The proposed redundancies is the highest monthly total since 2003. The number of confirmed redundancies (1,976) in the most recent 12 months was lower than the previous 12 months (2,896).
• The full report is available on the Labour Market Report - October 2019 page

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