In 2024, the Economy Minister announced that the Department for the Economy (DfE) would adopt the Carnegie Framework as its definition of Good Jobs, which focuses on seven dimensions of job quality identified by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in their Good Work Index 2025.
Whilst it is recognised that job quality is broad and multi-dimensional, particular focus was given to three aspects of job quality to measure progress against the Department’s Good Jobs focus. To capture these aspects, NISRA was commissioned by the Department for the Economy (DfE) to develop a Good Jobs Measure for Northern Ireland.
For the purposes of this metric a “good job” is one which meets the following requirements:
- A permanent contract; and
- A non zero-hour contract; and
- Earning the Real Living Wage (RLW) or more.
More information on the Department for the Economy’s approach to good jobs and the wider dimensions of the Carnegie framework can be found at the Skills and Employment section of the Department for the Economy's website.
The most recent figures for this Good Jobs measure relate to 2025 and are derived from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Headline results
Good Jobs in Northern Ireland – published 25th November 2025 are highlighted below:
Key Points
- The rate of good jobs in Northern Ireland stood at 69.0% in 2025, marking a 1.9 percentage point (pps) drop from its peak in 2022.
- The percentage of good jobs in Northern Ireland showed a steady increase from 2017 to 2022, rising from 63.4% to 70.9%. In 2023, the good jobs rate decreased slightly by 0.4pps, followed in 2024 by a 3.1pps drop. 2025 saw the good jobs rate recovering with an increase of 1.5pps to 69.0% (not statistically significant).
- By location of the job at 73.1% Belfast boasts the highest good jobs rate in Northern Ireland at 74.8%, whilst Causeway Coast and Glens has the lowest rate at 58.6%, which is over 3pps lower than the next lowest area.
- The ‘Transport and Communication’ sector in Northern Ireland boasts the highest rate of good jobs in 2025, with 88.5% of positions in the industry deemed good. The ‘Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing’ sector has the lowest percentage, with fewer than half of the roles meeting this standard (38.8%).
- People in the 40-49 age group have the highest proportion of good jobs, with 80.0% employed in such positions. Employees under the age of thirty have the lowest proportion of good jobs, 12.7% of those in the 16-21 age group and 61.4% of those in the 22-29 age group.
- ‘Managers, directors, and senior officials’ in Northern Ireland hold the highest proportion of good jobs, with 93.1% of these roles classified as good. ‘Sales and customer service’ have the lowest share of good jobs, with 34.5% of positions meeting this standard.
- Almost all jobs in the ‘Financial Services/Fintech’ priority sector are classified as good (97.0%).