The Northern Ireland Executive has received confirmation that 310 jobs were lost in September, bringing the annual tally of confirmed redundancies down to 1,570. This figure represents roughly one-third fewer cuts than recorded last year when 2,350 positions were vacated.
While early data from HMRC PAYE suggests 210 proposed redundancies occurred in the same month, pushing a different annual total to 2,920, official records rely on the lower count of 1,570 for confirmed losses. The Labour Force Survey indicates no statistically significant shifts in overall employment levels over the past twelve months.
In September, the count of individuals claiming benefits stood at 32,700, or 3.2% of the workforce, a drop of 0.6% from the revised figure for August. Despite this monthly improvement, the September total remains 9.6% higher than the pre-pandemic level recorded in March 2020.
Wage data points to continued growth, with median monthly earnings for payrolled staff reaching £2,508 in September. This represents an increase of £13 over the month and £83 compared to the same period last year, a 3.4% rise annually.
The number of employees receiving payments through HMRC PAYE rose slightly to 820,600 in September, up 0.9% from the previous year. Analysts note that these early estimates are more prone to revision as more complete data becomes available.
Headline measures for unemployment and economic inactivity derive from the Labour Force Survey conducted by the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency on behalf of the Department for the Economy.
The statistics were published today, with comparisons between the latest quarterly estimates and those from a year prior used to determine annual trends.