All tables associated with this report can be downloaded from the NISRA website.
1. Overview
1.1 Key points
Employment section 3.3
Employment section 3.4
Unemployment section 2.2
Unemployment section 2.3
Employment section 3.5
Unemployment section 2.1
Employment section 3.1
Economic inactivity section 4.1
Employment section 3.2
1.2 Commentary
The latest labour market indicators show record levels of payrolled employees, payroll earnings and employee jobs. The trend of low numbers of redundancies continues, where the latest twelve month totals of confirmed and proposed redundancies (1,080 and 1,220) were the lowest in the time series (since 2000).
Measures of total employment (e.g. employment rate and hours worked), unemployment and economic inactivity have not yet returned to their pre-pandemic position.
The latest HMRC payroll data showed the highest level of payrolled employees on record in August, which are now 3.6% above those recorded in March 2020 pre-COVID and 2.7% higher than August 2021. Payroll earnings recorded for August were up by 9.2% over the year and are now 13.8% above pre-COVID levels.
Businesses reported that employee jobs increased over both the quarter and the year to a series high of 797,840 jobs in June 2022.
The claimant count estimate was unchanged over the month to August 2022. This follows a consistent period of decreases in the claimant count between March 2021 and July 2022. The claimant count remains above the pre-pandemic count in March 2020 (by 19.4%).
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) shows a statistically significant decrease in the unemployment rate over the year to May-July 2022 to 2.9%. When compared to pre-pandemic levels, the total number of hours worked in May-July 2022 was 5.2% below, whilst the employment rate was 2.7pps below. The economic inactivity rate remains 2.3pps above the pre-pandemic position and the unemployment rate is 0.5pps above the pre-pandemic period.
1.3 Things users need to know
New Labour Market Report (LMR) format
Today’s LMR publication marks the first release in HTML format produced using reproducible analytical pipelines (RAP).
The content and format of the report and monthly tables have changed to make them more user friendly and interactive, enhancing accessibility, and increasing automation in their production. As the tables have changed, a mapping document has been created showing the relationship between old and new tables.
In addition, the LMR, data tables and supplementary documents are available on one webpage. Individual data source pages contain links directing users to the most recent data on the LMR publication page.
We welcome feedback from users on this new development (see Contacts).
Labour Market Statistics User Group 2022
Registration is now open for the online Labour Market Statistics User Group 2022. The user group will take place online on Thursday 29th September 2022 (10am - 11.30am).
1.4 Context
The Labour Market Report is a monthly overview of key labour market statistics for NI.
The Use of Economic and Labour Market Business and Household Surveys page provides recent examples of how data collected from the Labour Force Survey is used to inform, develop and monitor evidence-based policies. A Labour Market Outputs consultation in summer 2019 (Labour Market Statistics User Engagement page) showed labour market statistics are also used in academic and private sector research. Significant non-governmental users of labour market statistics include the media, banks, academics, private consultants, and the general public. User requested analysis is published on the NISRA website.
2. Unemployment
2.1 Labour Force Survey unemployment
LFS unemployment: The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines unemployed as those aged 16 and over without a job who were able to start work in the two weeks following their LFS interview and had either looked for work in the four weeks prior to interview or were waiting to start a job they had already obtained.
Key findings
- The NI unemployment rate for May-July 2022 increased over the quarter and decreased over the year to 2.9%.
- The UK unemployment rate was estimated at 3.6%.
Figure 1: NI unemployment rate has been below the UK since 2017
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (Age 16 and over), May-Jul 2007 to May-Jul 2022
Figure 1 shows unemployment rates for NI and the UK over the last 15 years. During this period, the UK rate peaked at over 8% in late-2011 while the NI rate peaked at over 8% in 2013. Following these peaks, both rates showed a downward trend until the end of 2019, when the NI rate recorded a low point of 2.3%. The latest UK rate is the lowest rate seen during the last 15 years, whilst the NI rate remains slightly above 2019 rates (prior to the pandemic).
The NI unemployment rate (age 16 and over) for the period May-July 2022 was estimated at 2.9%. This was:
- an increase of 0.3pps over the quarter (not statistically significant)
- a decrease of 1.6pps over the year (statistically significant)
The number of unemployed people (age 16 and over) in NI was estimated at 26,000, which was:
- up 2,000 from last quarter; and
- down 14,000 from the same period last year.
Annual changes by sex:
- the male (age 16 and over) unemployment rate (3.5%) decreased by 2.6pps over the year; and
- the female (age 16 and over) unemployment rate (2.3%) decreased by 0.6pps over the year.
UK regional comparison:
- The NI unemployment rate (age 16 and over) of 2.9% was 0.7pps below the overall UK rate of 3.6%; and
- the third lowest of the twelve UK regions.
Long-term unemployment:
The percentage of unemployed who have been unemployed for 1 year or more (long-term) in NI was 39.8%. This was:
- a decrease of 0.5pps from the same period last year.
2.2 Claimant count (experimental)
Claimant Count (experimental) consists of all people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) plus those Universal Credit (UC) claimants who were claiming principally for the reason of being unemployed. Some claimants are wholly unemployed and seeking work, while others may be employed but with low earnings that make them eligible for unemployment related benefit support.
Key findings
- The NI claimant count was unchanged over the month to August 2022, and remained at 35,600.
- In August 2022, 3.8% of the NI workforce were recorded on the claimant count.
Figure 2: The seasonally adjusted claimant count remains higher than the pre-pandemic count
NI seasonally adjusted claimant count (experimental) monthly rates, August 2007 to August 2022
In August 2022, 35,600 people were recorded on the NI Claimant Count. This is 44.4% less than the recent peak in May 2020 and 19.4% more than the pre-pandemic count in March 2020. The increases in claimant count between March 2020 and May 2020 can largely be attributed to the increase in the numbers of people becoming unemployed or having their hours reduced, resulting in very low earnings below the administrative earnings threshold.
The NI seasonally adjusted claimant count was 35,600 (3.8% of the workforce) in August 2022, representing:
- no change in the count or rate over the month
- a decrease of 0.2% in males and an increase of 0.2% in females over the month
- a decrease of 12,500 (26.0%) over the year, and
- an increase of 5,800 (19.4%) since March 2020.
UK regional comparison:
- The UK seasonally adjusted claimant count increased by 0.4% over the month to 1,534,200 (3.9% of the workforce).
- The UK count is 43.0% below the recent peak in August 2020 and 24.6% above the pre-pandemic count in March 2020.
2.3 Redundancies
Redundancies: Companies must inform the Department of (a) impending redundancies of 20 or more employees and (b) subsequent confirmed redundancies. Since all proposed redundancies do not actually take place, the confirmed total provides a better indication of real job losses.
Key findings
- 20 redundancies were confirmed in August 2022, taking the annual total to 1,080, which was 78.6% less than the previous year (5,070).
- In the latest 12-month period, there were 1,220 proposed redundancies, which was 77.6% less than the previous year (5,460).
- The latest annual totals for both proposed and confirmed redundancies were the lowest totals in the time series (since 2000).
Figure 3: Lowest ever twelve-month totals of both proposed and confirmed redundancies in the latest period
NI confirmed and proposed redundancies, Annual totals, Sep 2006-Aug 2007 to Sep 2021-Aug 2022
Redundancy notification data generally shows a high degree of correlation between proposed and confirmed redundancies when grouped by year. The graph above shows that, generally the number of proposed redundancies is higher than confirmed redundancies indicating that not all proposed redundancies take place.
The rolling twelve-month totals for both proposed (1,220) and confirmed (1,080) redundancies in the most recent period were the lowest totals in the time series (since 2000). The monthly average of confirmed redundancies so far in 2022 was 50, which was well below the monthly average of 240 during 2021.
Confirmed redundancies
During August 2022, the Department was notified of:
- 20 confirmed redundancies (less than a tenth of the monthly average (240) during 2021).
- This was the lowest monthly total since August 2006.
Over the latest twelve month period there were:
- 1,080 confirmed redundancies, which was 78.6% less than the previous year (5,070).
- 240 confirmed redundancies (22.1%) in the financial and insurance activities trade.
- 230 confirmed redundancies (21.5%) in the manufacturing trade.
- 170 confirmed redundancies (15.5%) in the administrative and support service activities trade.
Proposed redundancies
In line with the statistical disclosure control policy to prevent identification of individual businesses, redundancy totals relating to fewer than 3 businesses are not disclosed. As such, the number of proposed redundancies for the month of August cannot be disclosed.
Over the last twelve months to the end of August 2022 there were:
- 1,220 proposed redundancies, which was 77.6% less than the previous year (5,460).
- 240 proposed redundancies (19.4%) in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles trade.
- 220 proposed redundancies (18.1%) in the administrative and support service activities trade.
3. Employment
3.1 LFS employment
LFS employed: people aged 16 or over who did at least one hour of paid work in the reference week (whether as an employee or self-employed); those who had a paid job that they were temporarily away from; those on government-supported training and employee programmes and those doing unpaid family work.
Key findings
- The NI employment rate for May-July 2022 decreased over the quarter and increased over the year to 69.6%.
- The UK employment rate was estimated at 75.4%.
Figure 4: Similar trend in NI and UK employment rates over the last 15 years
Seasonally adjusted employment rate (Aged 16 to 64), May-Jul 2007 to May-Jul 2022
Figure 4 shows that, over the last 15 years, the NI employment rate has been consistently below the UK rate. Although showing a similar trend, the fall in the employment rate in NI between 2008 and 2009 (by over 4pps) was steeper than the fall in the UK rate. Similarly, the fall between 2019 and 2021 was steeper for NI than the UK as a whole, following peak rates recorded for both towards the end of 2019. The NI and UK employment rates for those aged 16 to 64 increased over the year and decreased over the quarter to May-July 2022, to 69.6% and 75.4% respectively. The NI rate is 2.7pps below the pre-pandemic rate in November-January 2020 (72.3%), whilst the UK rate is 1.0pps below.
The most recent NI employment rate (aged 16 to 64) for the period May-July 2022 was estimated at 69.6%. This was:
- a decrease of 0.6pps over the quarter (not statistically significant); and
- an increase of 0.9pps over the year (not statistically significant);
Annual changes by sex included:
- the male (aged 16 to 64) employment rate (73.0%) increased by 4.0pps over the year; and
- the female (aged 16 to 64) employment rate (66.3%) decreased by 2.1pps over the year.
UK regional comparison:
- The NI employment rate (aged 16 to 64) of 69.6% was 5.8pps less the overall UK rate of 75.4%; and
- the lowest of the twelve UK regions.
3.2 Total weekly hours
Please note that the following estimates are not adjusted for seasonality.
Key findings
- The total number of weekly hours worked in May-July 2022 was estimated at 27.4 million hours per week.
- This was a decrease of 2.0% on the previous quarter and 4.2% on the same period last year.
Figure 5: Hours worked has not returned to pre-pandemic levels
Total weekly hours worked (Age 16 and over), May-Jul 2007 to May-Jul 2022
Figure 5 shows that, like many labour market indicators, total weekly hours worked shows a seasonal pattern. Outside of these seasonal variations a trend of increasing weekly hours worked can be seen between 2009 and 2020 prior to a sharp fall between November-January 2020 and May-July 2020. Following this point, whilst there has been a general increasing trend, hours worked has not recovered to the peak levels in 2019. Hours worked in May-July 2022 were 7.1% below the peak of 29.5 million hours in August-October 2019.
The total number of weekly hours worked in NI was estimated at 27.4 million hours, this was:
- a decrease of 0.6 million hours (2.0%) on the previous quarter;
- an increase of 1.1 million hours (4.2%) from the same period last year; and
- 1.5 million hours, or 5.2%, below the pre-pandemic (November-January 2020) figure.
3.3 Employees (experimental) from HMRC PAYE RTI
Payrolled employee counts (experimental) from the HMRC’s Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) system relate to employees paid by employers only, and do not include those who are self-employed. Data are based on where employees live and not the location of their place of work within the UK. As employees who were “furloughed” as part of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme programme should still have had their payments reported through this system, they should feature in these data.
Key findings
- The number of payrolled employees in NI in August 2022 was 0.2% higher than July 2022 and 2.7% higher than August 2021.
- Employee numbers have increased for the twelfth consecutive month.
- In the UK, the number of employees increased by 0.2% over the month and increased by 2.8% over the year to August.
Figure 6: Number of payrolled employees continues to increase
NI payrolled employees (experimental) from PAYE RTI, July 2014 to August 2022
Between 2014 and 2020 the number of payrolled employees had generally been increasing each month. Prior to COVID, payrolled employees peaked at around 752,000 in March 2020. This was followed by a sharp decrease of around 10,000 employees (1.4%) to April 2020. Employee numbers remained around that level until April 2021.
Since April 2021 there has generally been an upward trend in the number of payrolled employees and the August 2022 total is now 2.7% above the level one year earlier. This is the highest on record and follows increases every month in the last year.
Data from the latest HMRC PAYE RTI show that:
- 779,600 people were payrolled employees in August 2022, a 0.2% increase from the previous month and a 2.7% increase from August 2021.
- in the UK, there were 29,727,300 payrolled employees at August 2022, an increase of 0.2% over the month and an increase of 2.8% over the year.
- all regions of the UK increased over the year to August 2022, where changes ranged from a 4.3% increase in London to an increase of 2.2% for North West. NI recorded a similar increase to the UK as a whole (2.7% and 2.8% respectively).
- between March 2020 and August 2022, all regions of the UK recorded an increase in payrolled employees (an increase of 2.6% overall). Northern Ireland recorded the largest increase (3.6%) while London recorded the lowest (1.8%).
3.4 Earnings (experimental) from HMRC PAYE RTI
Median measures the amount earned by the average employee, i.e. the level of earnings at which half the population are above and half the population are below.
Key findings
- Median monthly pay increased by 1.6% (£31) over the month to August to £1,987 and was 9.2% (£167) higher than the same period last year.
- UK median monthly pay increased by 0.2% (£4) over the month to August to £2,113 and increased by 6.5% (£129) over the year.
Figure 7: Both NI and UK median monthly pay continues on an upward trend
Median Monthly Pay (experimental) from PAYE RTI, July 2014 to August 2022
Median employee pay in NI and UK was generally on an increasing trend between mid-2015 and early 2020. A sharp increase in median pay of 2.2% was seen between February and March 2020 in NI, followed by a decrease of 5.0% in NI and 2.9% in the UK between March and April 2020. This coincided with decreases in the number of paid employees between March and April.
From April 2020, median employee pay has shown an upward trend, however in recent months some volatility has been seen in the NI results.
Median employee pay increased in the latest month (£1,987) and is now 13.8% higher than the pre-pandemic level in March 2020 (£1,746).
Data from the latest HMRC PAYE RTI show that:
- NI had a median monthly pay of £1,987 in August 2022, which was an increase of 1.6% on the previous month and an increase of 9.2% from August 2021.
- UK had a median monthly pay of £2,113 in August 2022, which was an increase of 0.2% on the previous month and an increase of 6.5% from August 2021.
- NI had the largest annual increase of the 12 UK regions and has the fourth lowest median earnings in the UK. London has the highest median pay (£2,548).
- Since March 2020, earnings in NI have increased by 13.8%, lowest of all the UK regions, and 0.7pps lower than the UK, which increased by 14.5%.
3.5 Quarterly Employment Survey (QES)
QES employee: anyone aged 16 years or over that is directly paid from a business’s payroll for carrying out a full-time or part-time job or being on a training scheme in NI. The QES counts the number of jobs rather than the number of persons with jobs.
Key findings
- Employee jobs in NI increased over both the quarter and the year to 797,840 jobs in June 2022.
- June 2022 estimates reported a third consecutive quarter of annualized growth (+2.4%) following four quarters of decline.
Figure 8: Employee jobs are increasing
NI index of employee jobs, June 2007 to June 2022 (Quarter 2)
Figure 8 shows estimated seasonally adjusted employee jobs, indexed to allow comparison between NI and the UK. The UK reached a low point in December 2010, more than a year before the NI low in March 2012. There are now 106,830 more employee jobs in NI since the lowest point in March 2012, and 4,180,000 more jobs in the UK since December 2010.
The seasonally adjusted employee jobs total in Northern Ireland at June 2022 was 797,840, which was:
- an increase of 0.4% (3,560 jobs) over the quarter from the revised March 2022 estimate of 794,280; and
- an increase of 3.6% (27,860 jobs) over the year from the revised June 2021 estimate of 769,980.
- While the quarterly change in employee jobs was not found to be statistically significant, the change over the year was statistically significant. It should be noted that in June 2021 a number of restrictions on businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic were still in place, which may have had an impact on employee job numbers.
4. Economic inactivity
4.1 LFS Economic inactivity
Economically inactive: People not in employment who have not been seeking work within the last 4 weeks and/or are unable to start work within the next 2 weeks.
Key findings
- The economic inactivity rate increased over both the quarter and the year to 28.2%.
- The UK economic inactivity rate was estimated at 21.7%.
Figure 9: NI economic inactivity consistently above UK average
Seasonally adjusted economic inactivity rates (Aged 16 to 64), May-Jul 2007 to May-Jul 2022
Figure 9 shows that, over the last 15 years, economic inactivity in NI has been consistently higher than the UK average. Economic inactivity in NI peaked during this time-period in 2009 at just over 31%, compared to the peak in the UK rate of almost 24% at the beginning of 2010.
During the ten years to 2019, both the UK and NI economic inactivity rates were generally showing a downward trend, albeit the rate for NI has shown more variability than the UK. Whilst the NI rate has continued to show more variability than the UK since the onset of the COVID pandemic, there has been a general increasing trend for both. The NI and UK rates remain higher than the pre-pandemic period (November-January 2020), by 2.3pps and 1.3pps respectively.
The economic inactivity rate (aged 16 to 64) for May-July 2022 was estimated at 28.2%, which was:
- an increase of 0.4pps over the quarter (not statistically significant);
- an increase of 0.3pps over the year (not statistically significant)
Annual changes by sex included:
- the male (aged 16 to 64) economic inactivity rate (24.3%) decreased by 2.1pps over the year; and
- the female (aged 16 to 64) economic inactivity rate (32.1%) increased by 2.6pps over the year.
UK regional comparison:
- The NI economic inactivity rate (aged 16 to 64) of 28.2% was 6.5pps above the overall UK rate of 21.7%; and
- the highest of the twelve UK regions.
5. Further Information
General Information
The Labour Market Report is a monthly overview of key labour market statistics for NI. It includes figures from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), claimant count, redundancies counts, and HMRC PAYE statistics. More information about the data sources can be found in the LMR Supplementary Document.
Comparison between data sources
Although the broad concepts are similar across sources contained within this release, differences in reference periods, definitions, and methodology exist which impact the interpretation of the statistics. Additional information can be found in the LMR supplementary document, including:
- LFS unemployment and experimental claimant count
- LFS employment and the number of paid employees from HMRC PAYE RTI
- LFS employment and QES employee jobs
More information is also available in the comparison of labour market data sources article by ONS.
Seasonal adjustment
All estimates discussed in this report are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise stated. Seasonal adjustment removes the effects of seasonal factors and the arrangement of the calendar and allows comparison over months or quarters.
Reporting change and sampling variability
Reported change is calculated using unrounded data and is presented to 1 decimal place. When a change is less than 0.05pps, it is rounded to 0.0pps and the data is reported as unchanged.
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a sample survey. Estimates obtained from it are subject to sampling variability which means if we drew many samples, each would give a different result. Table 1 shows the sampling variability of the estimates, and quarterly and annual changes using 95% confidence intervals. We would expect that in 95% of samples the range would contain the true value.
Table 1: Sampling variability of labour market estimates
| Labour market status | Estimate | Confidence interval: estimate | Change over quarter | Confidence interval: quarterly change | Change over year | Confidence interval: annual change | Confidence interval around change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment (age 16 and over) | 26,000 | +/- 6,000 | 2,000 | +/- 5,000 | -14,000 | +/- 9,000 | +/- 9,000 |
| Employment (aged 16 to 64) | 850,000 | +/- 19,000 | -1,000 | +/- 18,000 | 18,000 | +/- 27,000 | +/- 29,000 |
| Economically inactive (aged 16 to 64) | 608,000 | +/- 19,000 | 2,000 | +/- 17,000 | 2,000 | +/- 26,000 | +/- 28,000 |
| Unemployment rate (age 16 and over) | 2.9% | +/- 0.6pps | 0.3pps | +/- 0.6pps | -1.6pps | +/- 1.0pps | +/- 1.1pps |
| Employment rate (aged 16 to 64) | 69.6% | +/- 1.6pps | -0.6pps | +/- 1.4pps | 0.9pps | +/- 2.3pps | +/- 2.4pps |
| Economic inactivity rate (aged 16 to 64) | 28.2% | +/- 1.5pps | 0.4pps | +/- 1.4pps | 0.3pps | +/- 2.2pps | +/- 2.3pps |
Alternative release time
The NI Labour Market Report is released at 7am. This is an ‘alternative release time’ agreed by the Office for Statistics Regulation and differs from the standard 9.30am release time for the majority of statistical reports.
Labour Force Survey
Response rates
The total eligible sample for the April-June 2022 LFS consisted of 5,570 addresses (1,191 chosen at random from the Land and Property Services (LPS) list of domestic properties and 4,379 carried forward from the previous quarter). A random start, fixed interval sampling technique of the addresses, which are ordered by Council Area and Ward, is used. This ensures a proportional representation across the Council Areas in Northern Ireland.
Only private household addresses were eligible and every selected address is interviewed on five successive occasions over five quarters. This means there is an 80% sample overlap between quarters.
Table 2 is updated on a quarterly basis – additional information can be found in the supplementary document. The achieved sample size has now returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Table 2: Response rates, April-June 2022
| Statistic | Figure |
|---|---|
| Fully and partially responding | 2,885 |
| Eligible sample | 5,570 |
| Response rate (%) | 51.8% |
LFS revisions
LFS microdata are routinely revised to incorporate the latest population estimates.
In June 2022, the LFS estimates were reweighted from January-March 2020 to January-March 2022 using updated PAYE Real-Time Information data and with the introduction of the non-response bias adjustment to NI data. An overview of the impact of reweighting on the NI estimates of unemployment, employment, and economic inactivity is available on the NISRA website. This paper also contains the detail on two previous LFS reweightings since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in October 2020 and July 2021.
LFS comparisons
Estimates of employment, unemployment, and economic inactivity are derived from the LFS. The most robust estimates of short-term movements in these estimates are obtained by comparing the estimates over separate three-month periods, commonly known as 3 month rolling averages. For example, estimates relating to May-July 2022 should be compared with the estimates for February-April 2022. This provides a more robust estimate than comparing with the estimates for April-June 2022, as the May and June data are included within both estimates. The LFS is sampled such that it is representative of the NI population over a three-month period, not for a single month period.
Suppression and shading
Estimates based on fewer than 3 events are suppressed to prevent disclosure. In tables, shading is used to draw attention to lower statistical quality/precision of estimates that are based on a smaller sample size. Shaded estimates still provide the best estimate of the size of a group but comparison across time or between groups with similar values should be avoided. Unshaded estimates are based on a larger sample size. This is likely to result in estimates of higher precision, although they will still be subject to some sampling variability.
Due to the small sample sizes and the effect this has on the precision of the figures, estimates for youth unemployment have not been included in this bulletin this month.
Claimant Count
Experimental claimant count
The measure is categorised as experimental as the statistics are in the testing phase and not yet fully developed. ONS have produced a useful Guide to Experimental Statistics, and an FAQ document explaining the difference between the previous measure and this experimental measure is available on the changes to the claimant count page.
Claimant count revisions
Seasonally adjusted estimates are revised on a regular basis. Each month the previous estimate is revised in line with the current seasonal adjustment model, giving the best estimate of change for the latest period.
Claimant count undercount correction note
A number of claims across the UK to the UC element of the Claimant Count were coded to incorrect locations for data relating to December 2018 to November 2019. This has been corrected for December 2019 onwards, but previous periods remain affected. The impact of the revision on NI for December 2019 was an increase of fewer than 1,000 cases.
Percentage of workforce
The number of claimants as a percentage of workforce jobs plus claimants. Workforce jobs are the sum of employee jobs, self-employment jobs, HM Forces, and government-supported trainees. This measure is only available at the NI level.
Redundancies
To prevent the potential identification of individual businesses, redundancy totals relating to fewer than 3 businesses are not disclosed. The Statistical Disclosure Control Policy is available on the NISRA website.
Redundancy legal requirements
Further information on redundancies can be found in the Redundancies Background Information page and Confirmed Redundancies Trend Tables.
HMRC PAYE Real Time Information
Age breakdowns are published in January, April, July and October, and industry sector breakdowns published in February, May, August and November. Data are subject to revisions.
Further information on UK monthly pay, UK pay distribution, methodology, data source, collection, and coverage of PAYE RTI data, as well as information on imputation and revisions can be found on the Earnings and employment from PAYE page.
Quarterly Employment Survey (QES)
QES revisions
QES estimates are revised quarterly to reflect the latest information provided to the Department by employers. The March 2022 seasonally adjusted estimate first published in June 2022 has subsequently been revised down by 0.1%. For further details, please see the Quarterly Employment Survey revisions page.
The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency wishes to thank the participating households and businesses for their co-operation in agreeing to take part in the surveys and for facilitating the collection of the relevant data.
6. Contacts
For further information contact:
Labour Force Survey, Claimant Count, and Redundancies
Mark McFetridge
Email: LFS@finance-ni.gov.uk
Quarterly Employment Survey
Ciaran Kerr
Email: economicstats@nisra.gov.uk
HMRC PAYE
Ashleigh Warwick
Email: economicstats@nisra.gov.uk
Web: Labour Market and Social Welfare
Twitter: NISRA
7. National Statistics Status
National Statistics status means that our statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality, and public value, and it is our responsibility to maintain compliance with these standards.
These statistics were designated as National Statistics in August 2010 following a full assessment of Labour Market Statistics for Northern Ireland against the Code of Practice for statistics. A compliance check in March 2020 recommended the continued designation of the report as a National Statistic. These statistics were considered as part of a wider assessment of the UK employment and jobs statistics.
Since the assessment by the UK Statistics Authority, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the following improvements:
- New HTML Labour Market Report and monthly tables, produced using reproducible analytical pipelines (RAP) to enhance usability and accessibility (in line with regulations) and increase automation of production;
- Providing more context to results by setting recent changes within context of longer term trends;
- Removed pre-release access to enhance trustworthiness, and brought forward the publication date as a result;
- Improved timeliness of quarterly labour force survey tables (ranging from 1 week to 3 months) by incorporating quarterly tables in the main Labour Market Report Publication;
- Improved quality of the LFS data by boosting the sample size and improving precision around headline estimates (Please note, sample sizes decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to difficulty of collecting survey information from households, but have since returned to pre-pandemic levels);
- Reviewed and updated quality protocols for release for LFS data;
- Improved accessibility of labour market statistics by changing the release dates of statistics to avoid public holidays;
- Included additional administrative sources of labour market data to provide a fuller picture of the labour market;
- Changed the timing of release in line with change in ONS release practices in response to COVID-19 where the exemption has now been transferred to an alternative release time of 7am as agreed by the OSR.