Higher Unemployment Rate A Concern

Although the unemployment rate rose to 2.1% in the latest quarter in Northern Ireland, which is a concern, this figure is still relatively low to what the rate has been in the past. In an ideal world everyone would be able to find employment, but as we are all very well aware we don’t live in anything like an ideal world, so there will always be members of the community who will be out of work.

The First Quarterly Rise In Unemployment For Almost Two Years

Wage growth has also slowed according to the latest figures. Here are some details on the above as copied from an article by Clodagh Rice on the BBC News website. On the news that the unemployment rate has risen to 2.1% she wrote:

‘That is an increase on the previous quarter and on the same time last year and is the first quarterly rise in almost two years.

‘The typical monthly pay packet was £2,344 in Northern Ireland in June – £28 lower than May, but still £26 higher than last year.

‘Northern Ireland was the lowest earning region in the UK in June, and had the smallest annual pay increase of the 12 UK regions.

‘The number of workers on company payrolls in Northern Ireland fell slightly last month to 809,200, but is still higher than the same time last year.

‘The proportion of people in work, or the employment rate, rose over the quarter to 72.1%, however it is still lower than the same time last year.

‘The number of people not in work nor looking for a job – known as the economic inactivity rate – improved over the quarter, falling to 26.3%, but that is still slightly higher than last summer.

‘The most common reason was “long-term sick” accounting for 39.3% of the total economically inactive.’

There Are Pending Pay Negotiations And The Potential For Pay-Related Disputes

In the same article by Clodagh Rice, Chief Executive of the Labour Relations Agency Mark McAllister is quoted on these statistics, saying that:

“Today’s statistics, combined with a surprise rise in inflation, make a bad combination especially with pending pay negotiations and the potential for pay-related disputes.”

“Whilst long-term trends are not in place, there does not seem to be a let-up in employees bemoaning the cost of living and employers bemoaning the cost of doing business,” 

There are quite a lot of disgruntled employees and employers around without a doubt, however there is the possibility that the above figures could be just a blip and we could be looking at far better statistics a few months down the line. We await those with baited breath—-