Blog » Minister Says decrease in Claimants is ‘Encouraging’

Minister Says decrease in Claimants is ‘Encouraging’

17th November 2014

 RECENT figures have revealed a fall in the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits. The latest statistics for October 2014 show that the number of claimants in receipt of unemployment related benefits decreased by 100 over the month, with a total fall of 8,700 in the unemployment claimant figures over the last 12 months.

They also show that for the period July-September 2014 the Northern Ireland Labour Force Survey unemployment rate was 6.0% — a decrease of 0.6% over the quarter and 1.3 percentage points over the year. This is the lowest rate since October-December 2009 on the non-overlapping quarterly series.
Commenting on the figures, Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Arlene Foster said: “The decrease in the unemployment rate, alongside the continued decrease in the Northern Ireland claimant count, is encouraging. The number of claimants has fallen in each of the last 22 months, which is the most sustained decrease since June 1995.

“The rate of unemployment in Northern Ireland (6.0%) is the same as that for the UK (6.0%) and is the lowest since late 2009. It also compares favourably to the August 2014 rates for the European Union (10.1%) and the Republic of Ireland (11.4%).”

Meanwhile, 50 learners have made the journey from NI to Birmingham to take part in this week’s Skills Show national finals.

Held on November 13-15 at the NEC, the Skills Show is the UK’s largest skills and careers event and celebrates the importance of skills to economic growth. During the three days of the Skills Show, the learners from Northern Ire-land will compete with 550 of the UK’s most talented apprentices and learners in front of 75,000 visitors to be named the UK’s ‘best’ in their skill area.

Offering his support to the participants the Employment and Learning Minister Stephen Farry said: “I wish every competitor the best of luck. It takes hard work, determination and a high level of skill to compete against the UK’s most talented apprentices and learners.

 “Northern Ireland enjoys an impressive track record at skills competitions at regional, national and world level and I am hopeful that this will continue in Birmingham”. 

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