Unemployment Rises Slightly As Rate Of Inflation Likely To Show A Fall

The latest figures released by HMRC have shown that the rate of unemployment is slightly up in Northern Ireland between April and June. The unemployment rate increased over this period from 2.5% to 2.7%, not a huge rise by any stretch but an increase all the same.

The Bank Of England Has Been Raising Interest Rates On A Regular Basis

The Bank of England have been raising interest rates on a regular basis in a bid to bring down the rate of inflation, and it appears that the rate is likely to show a bit of a fall when the latest data is released tomorrow. They have intimated that the jobs market has been too hot, which has helped to drive up wages, so the increase in unemployment will probably go down well with the Bank. However if they go too far there is a possibility they will push us nearer to a recession which will be in nobody’s interests.

Typical Pay Rises In N Ireland Might Now Be Matching The Rate Of Inflation

Here are some more figures relating to Northern Ireland, as published in an article today (Aug 15th) on the BBC News website. The figures actually show an increase in the number of people on company payrolls:

‘HMRC data suggested there were 793,000 pay rolled employees in July, a monthly increase of 0.4%.

‘The HMRC data also suggested typical pay rises in NI might now be matching the rate of inflation.

‘In July, Northern Ireland had typical monthly pay of £2,103, unchanged from the previous month but up by 7.5% compared to July 2022.

‘The UK’s annual rate of inflation in June was 7.9% with the July data due to be published on Wednesday.

‘The new data is highly likely to show the rate of inflation fell to around 7% in July.

‘Typical monthly earnings in NI are now 20.7% higher than the pre-pandemic level recorded in March 2020 (£1,743).

‘However that increase is 2.5 percentage points below the UK average and the lowest increase of all the UK regions.’

The Region Still Has A Way To Go To Become An Affluent Area For People To Live And Work In

The fact that monthly earnings are lower in Northern Ireland than the rest of the UK is significant, as it does show that the region still has a way to go to become a wealthy area for people to live and work in. It is important that we at least have parity with the rest of the UK in the near future so that we can attract more skilled people and investors to NI.