Over 5,000 Additional Workers Per Year Required To Grow NI Economy

A new report published by Ulster University’s Economic Policy Centre has forecast that Northern Ireland will require over 5,000 additional workers each year over the next 10 years. If these workers cannot be found this could seriously hold back economic growth here.

The report has forecast a high growth economy over the next few years which could create an extra 8,000 jobs. However, there could be a big shortfall in these numbers unless the issues around finding these additional workers aren’t addressed. As Brexit has meant that the numbers cannot be made up from inside the EU, other strategies are required to find more workers.

Tackling Economic Inactivity & Increasing The Migrant Labour Supply

Here are some more details on the findings of the report, as copied from an article by Clodagh Rice on the BBC News website. It says that:

The report reveals ‘the need to tackle economic inactivity, those people who are not in work nor looking for a job including long term sick, as well as increasing the migrant labour supply.

‘The fastest growing occupations in terms of demand are “high-value” jobs such as roles in data analytics, cyber security and IT.

‘These roles have typically higher wages, higher levels of productivity and require a higher level of qualification.

‘The health sector is expected to see the largest absolute growth due to its size and expected additional government spending to address longer-term strain on the health service.

‘Care workers and home carers are expected to increase employment by more than 4,000 over the next decade – that is the largest absolute increase across all occupations.

‘In contrast, employment growth is forecast to be flat in retail due to trends including the increased use of automation and the rise of online shopping.’

Not Enough Young People Coming Into The Labour Market

Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald is also quoted in the article and she said that:

“The number of young people coming into the labour market isn’t enough to meet the increased demand for jobs,” she said.

“The shortfall is such that an undersupply of people is anticipated at all skill levels.

“Given that Brexit has limited our ability to recruit from the EU, it is all the more important to help people who face barriers to work or training into employment.

“The traditional answer is upskilling people who are out of work, and that remains important. But it is also vital to support people once they are in employment.”