Unemployment Rate Falls As Pay Rises

It is heartening to see that the unemployment rate in Northern Ireland fell to a record low of 2% in the month of May, according to the latest statistics from Nisra. Allied to this average monthly pay has been rising, by 3.7% in June, up to £2,329 per month.

Over the course of the last 12 months average pay for workers in NI has increased by over 11%. If you compare this to the UK as a whole in the same period, where it has increased by less than 4%, you can see that wages have really been on the up in this part of the world.

Good News For The Average Working Person

This is good news without doubt for the average working person. Some employers may not find these statistics just as palatable of course if they are battling to stay in the black, with raw materials, energy costs as well as wages at high levels.

One of the reasons that average wages have risen over this period will be the fact that Stormont received funding in which to deal with public sector pay settlements, in order to stop the widespread strike disruptions which were proving so damaging.

Future Pay Deals In The Public Sector Are Very Much Up In The Air

In terms of future pay deals in the public sector the details are very much up in the air. The Stormont Executive used the funding they received from Westminster to meet the cost of backdated pay awards. Pay negotiations for future pay deals between unions and ministers are going to begin very shortly and so the finance minister Caoimhe Archibald is urgently asking for a review to secure more funding so that these pay deals can be ratified.

However it is very unlikely that any more funding from Westminster will be forthcoming before the new Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her first budget in October. This means unfortunately that the chances of more strike disruption during late summer are very high indeed.

Overall though we should be pleased that wages are increasing in Northern Ireland, as they did have some catching up to do with regard to many other parts of the UK. Higher wages mean that the average worker has more spare cash in their pocket, which in turn will mean they will have more to spend on goods and services which will help to boost local economies across the country. We all want to see a healthy and prosperous nation and higher wages are always a part of this particular jigsaw.