All tables associated with this report can be downloaded from the NISRA website.

1. Overview

1.1 Key points

The number of employees receiving pay through HMRC PAYE in NI in May 2024 was 801,800, which was unchanged over the month and an increase of 1.6% over the year.

Employment section 3.3
Earnings from HMRC PAYE indicated that NI employees had a median monthly pay of £2,217 in May 2024, an increase of £24 (1.1%) over the month and an increase of £141 (6.8%) over the year.

Employment section 3.4
In May 2024, the seasonally adjusted number of people on the claimant count was 37,400 (3.8% of the workforce), an increase of 3.8% from the previous month’s revised figure. The May 2024 claimant count remains 25.3% higher than the pre-pandemic count in March 2020.

Unemployment section 2.2
NISRA, acting on behalf of the Department for the Economy, received confirmation that 180 redundancies occurred in May 2024. Over the year June 2023 to May 2024, 2,470 redundancies were confirmed. There were 650 proposed redundancies in May 2024, taking the annual total to 4,040.

Unemployment section 2.3
Businesses reported that employee jobs increased over the quarter (0.6%) and increased over the year (1.2%) to 824,300 jobs in March 2024.

Employment section 3.5
The latest NI seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (the proportion of economically active people aged 16 and over who were unemployed) for the period February-April 2024 was estimated from the Labour Force Survey at 2.2%. This was a decrease of 0.1 percentage points (pps) over the quarter and a decrease of 0.1pps over the year.

Unemployment section 2.1
Line chart of seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (Age 16 and over) in NI. More detail on the trends is included in the text directly beside the charts and later in the report.
The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in work (the employment rate) was unchanged over the quarter and increased by 0.2pps over the year to 71.3%.

Employment section 3.1
Line chart of seasonally adjusted employment rate (Aged 16 to 64) in NI. More detail on the trends is included in the text directly beside the charts and later in the report.
The economic inactivity rate (the proportion of people aged 16 to 64 who were not working and not seeking or available to work) was unchanged over the quarter and decreased by 0.1pps over the year to 27.0%.

Economic inactivity section 4.1
Line chart of seasonally adjusted economic inactivity rates (Aged 16 to 64) in NI. More detail on the trends is included in the text directly beside the charts and later in the report.
The total number of weekly hours worked in NI was estimated at 28.2 million hours, an increase of 2.7% on the previous quarter and a decrease of 1.1% on the equivalent period last year.

Employment section 3.2

1.2 Commentary

The latest Labour Market release shows that over the year both payrolled employee numbers and earnings have increased, while employee jobs have also increased to a new series high. In addition, all the Labour Force Survey headline measures have improved over the year, with the unemployment and economic inactivity rates both decreasing and the employment rate increasing.

The latest HMRC payroll data shows that payrolled employee numbers were unchanged over the month and increased by 1.6% over the year. Payrolled earnings increased by 1.1% over the month and were 6.8% higher than May 2023.

Households reported, via the Labour Force Survey (LFS), over the year to February-April 2024, a 0.2pps increase in the employment rate (to 71.3%), a 0.1pps decrease in the economic inactivity rate (to 27.0%) and a 0.1pps decrease in the unemployment rate (to 2.2%). None of these annual changes were statistically significant.

The total number of hours worked in February-April 2024 decreased by 1.1% over the year, to 28.2 million hours per week. This is 2.1% below the pre-pandemic position recorded in November-January 2020.

Businesses reported, via the Quarterly Employment Survey, that employee jobs in NI increased over the quarter and the year to reach a new series high, 824,300 jobs, in March 2024. Quarterly increases in employee jobs were seen within the construction, services, and other industry sectors. Employee jobs decreased over the quarter within the manufacturing sector. Over the year, employee jobs increased across all four sectors.

In May 2024, the Department was notified of 180 confirmed redundancies, bringing the rolling twelve-month total of confirmed redundancies to 2,470, more than double the figure for the previous year (1,200). There were also 650 proposed redundancies reported to the Department in May 2024, which brought the annual total of proposed redundancies to 4,040, just over one and a half times the figure for the previous year (2,650). Although the rolling twelve-month totals of proposed and confirmed redundancies are substantially higher than those of the previous year, both are similar to the levels seen in the decade preceding the pandemic.

Finally, there was an increase of 3.8% in the claimant count estimate over the month to May 2024 from the revised figure for April 2024, and an increase of 4.5% in this estimate over the year. The claimant count rate has remained relatively stable since April 2022, ranging from 3.6% to 3.8%. The rate for May 2024 was 3.8%.

1.3 Things users need to know

Labour Market Statistics – Transformation in Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) is currently in the process of transforming the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and associated labour market statistics for Northern Ireland. This work is being advanced alongside work by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to transform the LFS in GB.

On 10th April 2024, NISRA published The Transformation of Labour Market Statistics in Northern Ireland – NISRA User Information Paper April 2024 which provides an update on the work as at this date. It provides background on the current LFS along with an overview of NISRA’s Social Surveys, outlining both the potential and necessity to change how such surveys are conducted in the future. The paper also details how the new Labour Market Survey (LMS) will follow an online first approach, highlighting how both the content of the questionnaire and supporting field operation have been tailored to meet local needs. As the paper outlines, the new online survey was initiated in October 2023 and is currently delivering encouraging Wave 1 response rates that are exceeding those secured through the LFS.

Alongside this, an LMS & LFS Mapping Document - April 2024 has been published. This document compares all of the questionnaire variables in the LMS to the LFS and highlights differences and similarities between them. More information on the Transformation of the Labour Market Statistics in NI can be found at Labour Force Survey Transformation.

If on reading the information paper and associated documentation you have any queries regarding NISRA’s work in this space we would love to hear from you. All queries should be sent to: Labourmarketstatistics@nisra.gov.uk.

Launch of the accredited official statistics badge

On 7th June 2024, the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) launched the Accredited Official Statistics badge to replace the National Statistics badge. The replacement badge will appear on the Labour Market Report going forward.

Accredited Official Statistics are official statistics that have been independently reviewed by OSR and confirmed to comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. So National Statistics are accredited official statistics.

This change has been implemented because OSR carried out a review of the National Statistics designation and found that people were confused by the term ‘National Statistics’. This led them to introduce the label ‘accredited official statistics’, to clarify what ‘National Statistics’ means. And to make things even clearer, and ensure consistency of language, they introduced a new badge for accredited official statistics that replaces the National Statistics badge.

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 February-April 2024 decreased over both the quarter and the year to 2.2%.
  • The most recent UK unemployment rate for February-April 2024 was estimated at 4.4%.

Figure 1: The latest NI unemployment rate remains historically low

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (Age 16 and over), Feb-Apr 2009 to Feb-Apr 2024
Chart
Table
Date Northern Ireland United Kingdom
Feb-Apr 2009 6.3 7.3
May-Jul 2009 6.4 7.9
Aug-Oct 2009 6.5 7.9
Nov-Jan 2010 6.3 7.7
Feb-Apr 2010 7.1 8.0
May-Jul 2010 6.7 7.8
Aug-Oct 2010 7.5 7.9
Nov-Jan 2011 7.9 7.9
Feb-Apr 2011 7.2 7.7
May-Jul 2011 7.4 8.0
Aug-Oct 2011 6.9 8.4
Nov-Jan 2012 6.4 8.4
Feb-Apr 2012 7.0 8.2
May-Jul 2012 8.2 8.0
Aug-Oct 2012 7.8 7.9
Nov-Jan 2013 8.3 7.8
Feb-Apr 2013 7.6 7.8
May-Jul 2013 6.9 7.7
Aug-Oct 2013 7.6 7.4
Nov-Jan 2014 7.4 7.2
Feb-Apr 2014 6.7 6.6
May-Jul 2014 6.6 6.2
Aug-Oct 2014 6.4 6.0
Nov-Jan 2015 6.0 5.7
Feb-Apr 2015 6.0 5.5
May-Jul 2015 6.1 5.6
Aug-Oct 2015 6.2 5.2
Nov-Jan 2016 6.1 5.1
Feb-Apr 2016 5.6 5.1
May-Jul 2016 5.3 4.9
Aug-Oct 2016 5.7 4.9
Nov-Jan 2017 5.8 4.8
Feb-Apr 2017 5.3 4.6
May-Jul 2017 5.0 4.4
Aug-Oct 2017 3.9 4.3
Nov-Jan 2018 3.3 4.4
Feb-Apr 2018 3.3 4.3
May-Jul 2018 3.8 4.1
Aug-Oct 2018 3.6 4.1
Nov-Jan 2019 3.5 4.0
Feb-Apr 2019 3.1 3.9
May-Jul 2019 2.8 3.9
Aug-Oct 2019 2.3 3.9
Nov-Jan 2020 2.4 4.0
Feb-Apr 2020 2.5 4.2
May-Jul 2020 3.2 4.4
Aug-Oct 2020 4.0 5.2
Nov-Jan 2021 4.2 5.3
Feb-Apr 2021 3.6 5.0
May-Jul 2021 4.5 4.7
Aug-Oct 2021 4.0 4.3
Nov-Jan 2022 3.2 4.1
Feb-Apr 2022 2.6 4.0
May-Jul 2022 2.9 3.7
Aug-Oct 2022 2.9 3.9
Nov-Jan 2023 2.3 3.8
Feb-Apr 2023 2.4 3.9
May-Jul 2023 2.7 4.3
Aug-Oct 2023 2.2 4.0
Nov-Jan 2024 2.3 4.0
Feb-Apr 2024 2.2 4.4


Figure 1 shows the unemployment rates for NI and the UK over the last 15 years. During this period, the UK unemployment rate peaked at 8.4% in late-2011, while the NI unemployment rate peaked at 8.3% in early-2013. Following these peaks, both unemployment rates showed a downward trend until the end of 2019. After rises during the early part of the pandemic, both rates have since decreased. Over the most recent year to February-April 2024 the NI unemployment rate decreased by 0.1pps to 2.2%, the lowest rate in this time series, while the UK unemployment rate increased by 0.5pps to 4.4%.

The NI unemployment rate (age 16 and over) for the period February-April 2024 was estimated at 2.2%. This was:

  • a decrease of 0.1pps over the quarter (not statistically significant); and
  • a decrease of 0.1pps over the year (not statistically significant).

The number of unemployed people (age 16 and over) in NI was estimated at 20,000, which was:

  • unchanged over the quarter; and
  • down 1,000 from the same period last year.

UK regional comparison:

  • The NI unemployment rate (age 16 and over) of 2.2% was 2.1pps below the most recent UK rate of 4.4%.
  • the lowest of the twelve UK regions.

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

  • Over the month to May 2024, the NI claimant count increased by 3.8% to 37,400.
  • In May 2024, 3.8% of the NI workforce were recorded on the claimant count.

Figure 2: The seasonally adjusted claimant count rate has remained relatively stable since April 2022

NI seasonally adjusted claimant count (experimental) monthly rates, May 2009 to May 2024
Chart
Note: graph has a non-zero axis
Table
Date Undercount Rate
May 2009 5.4
Jun 2009 5.6
Jul 2009 5.7
Aug 2009 5.8
Sep 2009 5.9
Oct 2009 6.0
Nov 2009 6.0
Dec 2009 6.1
Jan 2010 6.1
Feb 2010 6.1
Mar 2010 6.1
Apr 2010 6.1
May 2010 6.1
Jun 2010 6.2
Jul 2010 6.2
Aug 2010 6.3
Sep 2010 6.4
Oct 2010 6.4
Nov 2010 6.4
Dec 2010 6.4
Jan 2011 6.4
Feb 2011 6.5
Mar 2011 6.5
Apr 2011 6.5
May 2011 6.5
Jun 2011 6.6
Jul 2011 6.7
Aug 2011 6.7
Sep 2011 6.7
Oct 2011 6.7
Nov 2011 6.7
Dec 2011 6.7
Jan 2012 6.9
Feb 2012 6.9
Mar 2012 6.9
Apr 2012 7.0
May 2012 7.0
Jun 2012 7.1
Jul 2012 7.2
Aug 2012 7.1
Sep 2012 7.2
Oct 2012 7.2
Nov 2012 7.2
Dec 2012 7.3
Jan 2013 7.2
Feb 2013 7.2
Mar 2013 7.2
Apr 2013 7.2
May 2013 7.1
Jun 2013 7.0
Jul 2013 7.0
Aug 2013 7.0
Sep 2013 6.9
Oct 2013 6.8
Nov 2013 6.7
Dec 2013 6.6
Jan 2014 6.5
Feb 2014 6.4
Mar 2014 6.3
Apr 2014 6.2
May 2014 6.1
Jun 2014 6.0
Jul 2014 5.8
Aug 2014 5.8
Sep 2014 5.8
Oct 2014 5.7
Nov 2014 5.6
Dec 2014 5.5
Jan 2015 5.4
Feb 2015 5.2
Mar 2015 5.0
Apr 2015 4.9
May 2015 4.8
Jun 2015 4.8
Jul 2015 4.7
Aug 2015 4.6
Sep 2015 4.5
Oct 2015 4.4
Nov 2015 4.4
Dec 2015 4.3
Jan 2016 4.2
Feb 2016 4.2
Mar 2016 4.2
Apr 2016 4.1
May 2016 4.0
Jun 2016 4.0
Jul 2016 3.9
Aug 2016 3.8
Sep 2016 3.8
Oct 2016 3.7
Nov 2016 3.6
Dec 2016 3.6
Jan 2017 3.5
Feb 2017 3.5
Mar 2017 3.4
Apr 2017 3.4
May 2017 3.4
Jun 2017 3.3
Jul 2017 3.3
Aug 2017 3.3
Sep 2017 3.2
Oct 2017 3.2
Nov 2017 3.1
Dec 2017 3.2
Jan 2018 3.1
Feb 2018 3.2
Mar 2018 3.1
Apr 2018 3.1
May 2018 3.1
Jun 2018 3.1
Jul 2018 3.0
Aug 2018 3.0
Sep 2018 3.1
Oct 2018 3.1
Nov 2018 3.2
Dec 2018 3.2
Jan 2019 3.1
Feb 2019 3.1
Mar 2019 3.1
Apr 2019 3.1
May 2019 3.1
Jun 2019 3.1
Jul 2019 3.1
Aug 2019 3.0
Sep 2019 3.1
Oct 2019 3.2
Nov 2019 3.2
Dec 2019 3.2
Jan 2020 3.0
Feb 2020 3.0
Mar 2020 3.0
Apr 2020 5.7
May 2020 6.5
Jun 2020 6.3
Jul 2020 6.3
Aug 2020 6.3
Sep 2020 6.1
Oct 2020 6.0
Nov 2020 6.0
Dec 2020 5.9
Jan 2021 5.9
Feb 2021 6.1
Mar 2021 6.0
Apr 2021 5.9
May 2021 5.7
Jun 2021 5.4
Jul 2021 5.3
Aug 2021 5.1
Sep 2021 5.0
Oct 2021 4.8
Nov 2021 4.6
Dec 2021 4.4
Jan 2022 4.1
Feb 2022 4.0
Mar 2022 3.9
Apr 2022 3.7
May 2022 3.7
Jun 2022 3.7
Jul 2022 3.7
Aug 2022 3.6
Sep 2022 3.6
Oct 2022 3.6
Nov 2022 3.7
Dec 2022 3.8
Jan 2023 3.7
Feb 2023 3.6
Mar 2023 3.7
Apr 2023 3.7
May 2023 3.7
Jun 2023 3.7
Jul 2023 3.7
Aug 2023 3.7
Sep 2023 3.8
Oct 2023 3.7
Nov 2023 3.7
Dec 2023 3.7
Jan 2024 3.7
Feb 2024 3.7
Mar 2024 3.7
Apr 2024 3.7
May 2024 3.8


In May 2024, 37,400 people were recorded on the NI Claimant Count. This is 41.7% less than the recent peak in May 2020 and 25.3% more than the pre-pandemic count in March 2020. The increases in the 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 due to COVID, resulting in very low earnings below the administrative earnings threshold. The claimant count rate has remained relatively stable since April 2022, ranging from 3.6% to 3.8%.

The NI seasonally adjusted claimant count was 37,400 (3.8% of the workforce) in May 2024, representing:

  • an increase of 1,400 (3.8%) over the month
  • an increase of 1,600 (4.5%) over the year, and
  • an increase of 7,600 (25.3%) since March 2020.

Changes by sex:

  • an increase of 4.0% in males and an increase of 3.4% in females over the month, and
  • an increase of 1.3% in males and an increase of 9.2% in females over the year.

Changes by age:

  • Over the year, there has been a 4.1% decrease in claimants aged 16 to 24, and increases of 6.7% in both claimants aged 25 to 49 and those aged 50 and over.
  • Compared to the pre-pandemic counts in March 2020, there have been increases in the number of claimants for both the 25 to 49 (+34.0%) and the 50 and over (+17.3%) age-bands. However, there was a decrease of 4.5% in the number of claimants aged 16 to 24.

Changes by Local Government District:

  • Over the year, there were increases in all Local Government Districts, with the largest increases seen in Mid Ulster (+16.2%) and Fermanagh and Omagh (+13.6%).

UK regional comparison:

  • The UK seasonally adjusted claimant count increased by 3.2% over the month to 1,628,600 (4.3% of the workforce).
  • The UK count is 39.6% below the recent peak in August 2020 and 32.4% 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

  • 180 redundancies were confirmed in May 2024, taking the annual total to 2,470, which was over double the figure for the previous year (1,200).
  • There were 650 proposed redundancies in May 2024, taking the annual total to 4,040, which was one and a half times the figure for the previous year (2,650).

Figure 3: Latest annual totals of proposed and confirmed redundancies are considerably higher than the previous year

NI confirmed and proposed redundancies, Annual totals, Jun 2008-May 2009 to Jun 2023-May 2024
Chart
Table
Year Proposed Confirmed
2008/09 5,330 4,490
2009/10 3,890 3,140
2010/11 2,560 1,840
2011/12 3,510 2,190
2012/13 3,130 3,220
2013/14 3,100 2,080
2014/15 3,580 1,840
2015/16 4,870 3,210
2016/17 2,950 2,500
2017/18 3,540 2,170
2018/19 3,590 2,500
2019/20 4,600 2,670
2020/21 9,160 5,930
2021/22 2,110 1,620
2022/23 2,650 1,200
2023/24 4,040 2,470


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 number of proposed redundancies in May 2024 (650) is almost double the monthly average for 2023 (360), and more than double the monthly average in the five-years before the pandemic (310, covering 2015 to 2019). The rolling twelve-month total of 4,040 is the highest in 2024 so far and is similar to the trend before the pandemic.

The May 2024 total of confirmed redundancies (180) was lower than the monthly average for 2023 (220). The rolling twelve-month total (2,470) is lower than the recent peak in December 2023 (2,600), but remains similar to levels seen before the pandemic.

Confirmed redundancies

During May 2024, the Department was notified of:

  • 180 confirmed redundancies, lower than the monthly average (220) during 2023.

Over the latest twelve month period there were:

  • 2,470 confirmed redundancies, which was over double the figure for the previous year (1,200).
  • 510 confirmed redundancies (20.7%) in the financial and insurance activities sector.
  • 470 confirmed redundancies (19.1%) in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles sector.
  • 440 confirmed redundancies (17.8%) in the administrative and support service activities sector.

Proposed redundancies

During May 2024, the Department was notified of:

  • 650 proposed redundancies.

Over the last twelve months, to the end of May 2024, there were:

  • 4,040 proposed redundancies, which was one and a half times the figure for the previous year (2,650).
  • 1,260 proposed redundancies (31.1%) in the education sector.
  • 500 proposed redundancies (12.3%) in the financial and insurance activities sector.
  • 370 proposed redundancies (9.2%) in the information and communication sector.


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 February-April 2024 increased over both the quarter and year to 71.3%.
  • The most recent UK employment rate for February-April 2024 was estimated at 74.3%.

Figure 4: Similar trend in NI and UK employment rates over the last 15 years

Seasonally adjusted employment rate (Aged 16 to 64), Feb-Apr 2009 to Feb-Apr 2024
Chart
Note: graph has a non-zero axis
Table
Date Northern Ireland United Kingdom
Feb-Apr 2009 64.6 71.4
May-Jul 2009 64.2 70.6
Aug-Oct 2009 65.2 70.6
Nov-Jan 2010 65.6 70.4
Feb-Apr 2010 66.1 70.2
May-Jul 2010 66.4 70.6
Aug-Oct 2010 65.7 70.5
Nov-Jan 2011 66.0 70.5
Feb-Apr 2011 67.2 70.5
May-Jul 2011 67.1 70.2
Aug-Oct 2011 67.7 70.1
Nov-Jan 2012 68.1 70.2
Feb-Apr 2012 67.1 70.5
May-Jul 2012 66.8 71.0
Aug-Oct 2012 67.3 71.0
Nov-Jan 2013 66.4 71.3
Feb-Apr 2013 67.1 71.2
May-Jul 2013 67.5 71.4
Aug-Oct 2013 66.8 71.8
Nov-Jan 2014 67.6 72.0
Feb-Apr 2014 67.9 72.6
May-Jul 2014 67.9 72.7
Aug-Oct 2014 68.1 72.9
Nov-Jan 2015 67.6 73.2
Feb-Apr 2015 68.3 73.3
May-Jul 2015 67.9 73.4
Aug-Oct 2015 68.5 73.8
Nov-Jan 2016 68.8 73.9
Feb-Apr 2016 69.8 74.0
May-Jul 2016 69.7 74.3
Aug-Oct 2016 69.7 74.3
Nov-Jan 2017 69.1 74.3
Feb-Apr 2017 68.8 74.6
May-Jul 2017 68.3 75.1
Aug-Oct 2017 68.4 74.8
Nov-Jan 2018 69.5 75.1
Feb-Apr 2018 69.8 75.3
May-Jul 2018 70.0 75.2
Aug-Oct 2018 69.5 75.4
Nov-Jan 2019 70.9 75.8
Feb-Apr 2019 71.3 75.8
May-Jul 2019 72.0 75.8
Aug-Oct 2019 72.4 75.8
Nov-Jan 2020 72.3 76.1
Feb-Apr 2020 70.8 75.6
May-Jul 2020 69.8 75.2
Aug-Oct 2020 69.6 74.4
Nov-Jan 2021 67.9 74.1
Feb-Apr 2021 68.4 74.3
May-Jul 2021 68.7 74.7
Aug-Oct 2021 68.4 74.9
Nov-Jan 2022 68.7 75.0
Feb-Apr 2022 70.2 75.2
May-Jul 2022 69.6 74.9
Aug-Oct 2022 70.4 75.0
Nov-Jan 2023 70.7 75.2
Feb-Apr 2023 71.1 75.4
May-Jul 2023 69.8 74.9
Aug-Oct 2023 70.8 75.1
Nov-Jan 2024 71.3 74.8
Feb-Apr 2024 71.3 74.3


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 2019 and 2021 was steeper than the fall in the UK rate. The most recent NI employment rate (71.3%) was the highest rate since the pre-pandemic rate of 72.3% recorded in November-January 2020.

The most recent NI employment rate (aged 16 to 64) for the period February-April 2024 was estimated at 71.3%. This was:

  • unchanged over the quarter; and
  • an increase of 0.2pps over the year (not statistically significant);

The number of employed people (age 16 and over) in NI was estimated at 877,000, which was:

  • up 4,000 from last quarter; and
  • up 3,000 from the same period last year.

Annual changes by sex (for those aged 16 to 64) showed that:

  • the male employment rate (74.5%) decreased by 0.3pps over the year; and
  • the female employment rate (68.2%) increased by 0.6pps over the year.

UK regional comparison:

  • The NI employment rate (aged 16 to 64) of 71.3% was 3.0pps below the most recent UK rate of 74.3%.
  • the third lowest of the twelve UK regions.

Please note that the following estimates are not adjusted for seasonality.

Self-employment:

  • In February-April 2024, there were 111,000 self-employed, an increase of 15,000 (+15.7%) on a year ago, and 25,000 lower (-18.3%) than the pre-pandemic figure in November-January 2020.
  • The proportion who were self-employed (12.7%) remains below the pre-pandemic proportion (15.5% recorded in November-January 2020).

Employment by Age:

  • In February-April 2024, those aged 35 to 49 had the highest employment rate (82.6%), whilst those aged 16 to 24 had the lowest (49.7%).
  • Compared to the pre-pandemic rates in November-January 2020, the employment rate for those aged 50 to 64 saw the largest, and only, increase (by 1.7pps, from 64.3% to 66.0%), whilst the rate for those aged 16 to 24 saw the largest decrease (by -6.7pps, from 56.4% to 49.7%).

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 February-April 2024 was estimated at 28.2 million hours per week.
  • This was an increase of 2.7% on the previous quarter and a decrease of 1.1% on the same period last year.

Figure 5: Hours worked broadly similar to the level one year ago

Total weekly hours worked (Age 16 and over), Feb-Apr 2009 to Feb-Apr 2024
Chart
Note: graph has a non-zero axis
Table
Date Total weekly hours
Feb-Apr 2009 25.7
May-Jul 2009 25.1
Aug-Oct 2009 25.8
Nov-Jan 2010 25.0
Feb-Apr 2010 26.0
May-Jul 2010 25.5
Aug-Oct 2010 25.6
Nov-Jan 2011 24.8
Feb-Apr 2011 26.1
May-Jul 2011 25.8
Aug-Oct 2011 26.4
Nov-Jan 2012 25.3
Feb-Apr 2012 26.2
May-Jul 2012 26.1
Aug-Oct 2012 27.1
Nov-Jan 2013 25.6
Feb-Apr 2013 26.6
May-Jul 2013 26.8
Aug-Oct 2013 27.0
Nov-Jan 2014 26.0
Feb-Apr 2014 27.4
May-Jul 2014 27.2
Aug-Oct 2014 27.7
Nov-Jan 2015 26.6
Feb-Apr 2015 27.4
May-Jul 2015 26.6
Aug-Oct 2015 27.5
Nov-Jan 2016 26.4
Feb-Apr 2016 27.6
May-Jul 2016 27.1
Aug-Oct 2016 27.3
Nov-Jan 2017 27.3
Feb-Apr 2017 28.0
May-Jul 2017 26.8
Aug-Oct 2017 27.8
Nov-Jan 2018 28.0
Feb-Apr 2018 28.1
May-Jul 2018 28.7
Aug-Oct 2018 27.9
Nov-Jan 2019 28.5
Feb-Apr 2019 29.4
May-Jul 2019 29.2
Aug-Oct 2019 29.5
Nov-Jan 2020 28.8
Feb-Apr 2020 26.0
May-Jul 2020 23.6
Aug-Oct 2020 25.9
Nov-Jan 2021 24.8
Feb-Apr 2021 25.4
May-Jul 2021 26.2
Aug-Oct 2021 27.0
Nov-Jan 2022 26.2
Feb-Apr 2022 27.9
May-Jul 2022 27.4
Aug-Oct 2022 27.7
Nov-Jan 2023 27.6
Feb-Apr 2023 28.6
May-Jul 2023 27.4
Aug-Oct 2023 28.0
Nov-Jan 2024 27.5
Feb-Apr 2024 28.2


Figure 5 illustrates 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 the end of 2019, prior to a sharp fall between November-January 2020 and May-July 2020. From early-2021 onwards, the increasing trend returned at a steeper rate than before the pandemic. Hours worked in February-April 2024 remained 4.1% below the peak of 29.5 million hours in August-October 2019.

The total number of weekly hours worked in NI in February-April 2024 was estimated at 28.2 million hours, this was:

  • an increase of 0.8 million hours (2.7%) on the previous quarter;
  • a decrease of 0.3 million hours (1.1%) from the same period last year (not statistically significant); and
  • 0.6 million hours, or 2.1%, below the pre-pandemic (November-January 2020) figure.

The average number of weekly hours worked in February-April 2024 was estimated at 36.6 hours for those in full-time employment, and at 16.6 hours for those in part-time employment (for main jobs only, any second jobs are excluded). By sex:

  • for those in full-time employment, the average weekly hours worked for males was 38.5 hours, whereas for females it was 33.8 hours.
  • for those in part-time employment, the average weekly hours worked for males was 16.5 hours, whereas for females it was 16.6 hours.

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 was unchanged over the month and increased by 1.6% over the year to May 2024.
  • In the UK, the number of payrolled employees was unchanged over the month and increased by 0.6% over the year to May 2024.

Figure 6: Number of payrolled employees was unchanged over the month

NI payrolled employees (experimental) from PAYE RTI, July 2014 to May 2024
Chart
Note: graph has a non-zero axis
Table
Date Northern Ireland
Jul 2014 674,368
Aug 2014 675,835
Sep 2014 676,861
Oct 2014 678,225
Nov 2014 679,849
Dec 2014 679,368
Jan 2015 684,415
Feb 2015 686,431
Mar 2015 688,414
Apr 2015 690,886
May 2015 692,052
Jun 2015 694,448
Jul 2015 696,162
Aug 2015 697,417
Sep 2015 700,128
Oct 2015 700,930
Nov 2015 701,461
Dec 2015 701,048
Jan 2016 702,884
Feb 2016 703,341
Mar 2016 704,844
Apr 2016 704,442
May 2016 705,685
Jun 2016 705,710
Jul 2016 706,168
Aug 2016 707,900
Sep 2016 709,333
Oct 2016 710,674
Nov 2016 713,167
Dec 2016 713,844
Jan 2017 712,743
Feb 2017 714,637
Mar 2017 716,011
Apr 2017 717,052
May 2017 718,944
Jun 2017 720,614
Jul 2017 721,054
Aug 2017 722,701
Sep 2017 724,016
Oct 2017 725,438
Nov 2017 726,516
Dec 2017 729,934
Jan 2018 729,572
Feb 2018 731,210
Mar 2018 731,999
Apr 2018 733,340
May 2018 734,620
Jun 2018 735,312
Jul 2018 736,624
Aug 2018 738,146
Sep 2018 739,225
Oct 2018 741,055
Nov 2018 741,729
Dec 2018 742,627
Jan 2019 743,735
Feb 2019 744,761
Mar 2019 746,213
Apr 2019 747,555
May 2019 747,718
Jun 2019 746,758
Jul 2019 749,037
Aug 2019 749,102
Sep 2019 749,471
Oct 2019 749,881
Nov 2019 751,458
Dec 2019 751,016
Jan 2020 753,029
Feb 2020 754,263
Mar 2020 754,593
Apr 2020 743,782
May 2020 743,007
Jun 2020 742,601
Jul 2020 743,766
Aug 2020 739,333
Sep 2020 739,286
Oct 2020 738,444
Nov 2020 736,901
Dec 2020 737,055
Jan 2021 739,230
Feb 2021 739,546
Mar 2021 741,121
Apr 2021 742,454
May 2021 748,753
Jun 2021 755,643
Jul 2021 761,691
Aug 2021 761,322
Sep 2021 762,132
Oct 2021 763,213
Nov 2021 765,955
Dec 2021 768,220
Jan 2022 770,256
Feb 2022 771,205
Mar 2022 772,893
Apr 2022 775,369
May 2022 776,657
Jun 2022 776,436
Jul 2022 778,524
Aug 2022 781,237
Sep 2022 780,332
Oct 2022 781,575
Nov 2022 783,102
Dec 2022 784,683
Jan 2023 784,238
Feb 2023 785,579
Mar 2023 788,339
Apr 2023 789,156
May 2023 789,004
Jun 2023 789,777
Jul 2023 790,308
Aug 2023 791,553
Sep 2023 793,607
Oct 2023 796,938
Nov 2023 797,860
Dec 2023 799,006
Jan 2024 800,063
Feb 2024 801,353
Mar 2024 802,093
Apr 2024 801,753
May 2024 801,789


Please note:

  1. The flash estimate for the latest period is based on early data and is therefore more likely to be subject to revisions.

Between 2014 and 2020, the number of payrolled employees had generally been increasing each month, peaking at around 755,000 in March 2020. This was followed by a decrease of almost 11,000 employees (1.4%) to April 2020. Employee numbers then remained at a similar level until April 2021 when they returned to a general upward trend once again. Employee numbers, however, have plateaued in recent months.

Data from the latest HMRC PAYE RTI show that:

  • 801,800 people were payrolled employees in May 2024, unchanged from the previous month and a 1.6% increase over the year.
  • in the UK, there were 30,317,000 payrolled employees in May 2024, unchanged over the month and an increase of 0.6% over the year.
  • all regions of the UK increased over the year to May 2024, where changes ranged from an increase of 0.2% in London to an increase of 1.6% in Northern Ireland.
  • between March 2020 and May 2024, all regions of the UK recorded an increase in payrolled employees (4.6% overall). Northern Ireland recorded the largest increase (6.3%) while Scotland recorded the lowest (3.2%).

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 in NI increased by 1.1% (£24) over the month to £2,217 in May 2024 and increased by 6.8% (£141) over the year.
  • UK median monthly pay increased by 0.1% (£3) over the month to £2,379 in May 2024 and increased by 5.2% (£118) over the year.

Figure 7: Over the month median monthly pay increased in NI and in the UK

Median Monthly Pay (experimental) from PAYE RTI, July 2014 to May 2024
Chart
Note: graph has a non-zero axis
Table
Date Northern Ireland UK
Jul 2014 1490 1598
Aug 2014 1488 1601
Sep 2014 1489 1601
Oct 2014 1493 1605
Nov 2014 1498 1608
Dec 2014 1515 1617
Jan 2015 1500 1620
Feb 2015 1496 1620
Mar 2015 1501 1618
Apr 2015 1500 1614
May 2015 1498 1615
Jun 2015 1492 1616
Jul 2015 1493 1620
Aug 2015 1489 1616
Sep 2015 1494 1618
Oct 2015 1496 1626
Nov 2015 1494 1630
Dec 2015 1498 1631
Jan 2016 1503 1638
Feb 2016 1510 1640
Mar 2016 1517 1646
Apr 2016 1517 1652
May 2016 1515 1652
Jun 2016 1517 1654
Jul 2016 1521 1659
Aug 2016 1528 1659
Sep 2016 1528 1664
Oct 2016 1523 1663
Nov 2016 1531 1666
Dec 2016 1530 1668
Jan 2017 1535 1668
Feb 2017 1536 1677
Mar 2017 1547 1686
Apr 2017 1544 1689
May 2017 1546 1691
Jun 2017 1558 1694
Jul 2017 1556 1693
Aug 2017 1562 1699
Sep 2017 1565 1704
Oct 2017 1565 1706
Nov 2017 1574 1713
Dec 2017 1578 1721
Jan 2018 1572 1724
Feb 2018 1592 1728
Mar 2018 1587 1731
Apr 2018 1593 1730
May 2018 1605 1749
Jun 2018 1614 1755
Jul 2018 1614 1751
Aug 2018 1621 1771
Sep 2018 1622 1761
Oct 2018 1632 1767
Nov 2018 1637 1778
Dec 2018 1633 1772
Jan 2019 1648 1782
Feb 2019 1690 1791
Mar 2019 1662 1801
Apr 2019 1670 1810
May 2019 1681 1816
Jun 2019 1680 1811
Jul 2019 1682 1819
Aug 2019 1684 1824
Sep 2019 1686 1819
Oct 2019 1693 1826
Nov 2019 1688 1831
Dec 2019 1674 1835
Jan 2020 1704 1850
Feb 2020 1712 1861
Mar 2020 1745 1847
Apr 2020 1656 1792
May 2020 1665 1799
Jun 2020 1717 1828
Jul 2020 1743 1859
Aug 2020 1749 1880
Sep 2020 1768 1897
Oct 2020 1780 1913
Nov 2020 1779 1915
Dec 2020 1785 1924
Jan 2021 1785 1927
Feb 2021 1792 1942
Mar 2021 1797 1950
Apr 2021 1813 1963
May 2021 1807 1965
Jun 2021 1834 1973
Jul 2021 1880 1979
Aug 2021 1824 1986
Sep 2021 1850 2003
Oct 2021 1859 2012
Nov 2021 1857 2020
Dec 2021 1903 2033
Jan 2022 1936 2047
Feb 2022 1915 2054
Mar 2022 1931 2077
Apr 2022 1933 2077
May 2022 1942 2090
Jun 2022 1953 2099
Jul 2022 1960 2111
Aug 2022 1977 2119
Sep 2022 1967 2141
Oct 2022 1984 2152
Nov 2022 2010 2196
Dec 2022 2010 2186
Jan 2023 2040 2192
Feb 2023 2052 2207
Mar 2023 2115 2216
Apr 2023 2053 2225
May 2023 2076 2261
Jun 2023 2094 2296
Jul 2023 2090 2269
Aug 2023 2096 2278
Sep 2023 2098 2267
Oct 2023 2106 2284
Nov 2023 2127 2335
Dec 2023 2137 2322
Jan 2024 2135 2333
Feb 2024 2153 2345
Mar 2024 2169 2356
Apr 2024 2193 2376
May 2024 2217 2379


Please note:

  1. The flash estimate for the latest period is based on early data and is therefore more likely to be subject to revisions.
  2. Partially missing data in the submissions of some schemes in Northern Ireland has caused unusual patterns in pay for the region. Additional imputation has been applied to these schemes from November 2023 onwards. This imputation brings overall estimates for Northern Ireland in line with the expected trend, but once corrected data is received, estimates may be subject to some further small revisions.

Median monthly pay in NI and the UK increased overall between mid-2015 and early 2020. In NI, an increase of 1.9% in median pay was recorded between February and March 2020, followed by a decrease of 5.1% between March and April 2020. The UK also saw a decrease between March and April 2020 of 3.0%. These monthly decreases coincided with decreases in the number of paid employees recorded in April 2020. The most recent data shows that NI has the lowest monthly pay of the 12 UK government regions.

Data from the latest HMRC PAYE RTI show that:

  • NI had a median monthly pay of £2,217 in May 2024, which was an increase of 1.1% on the previous month and an increase of 6.8% over the year.
  • UK had a median monthly pay of £2,379 in May 2024, which was an increase of 0.1% on the previous month and an increase of 5.2% from May 2023.
  • NI had the largest annual increase of the 12 UK regions, but remains the lowest earning region in the UK. London had the highest median pay (£2,801).
  • Since March 2020, earnings in NI have increased by 27.0%, 1.8pps lower than the increase in the UK (28.8%) and second lowest of all the UK regions.

3.5 Quarterly Employment Survey (QES)

Survey date 04 March 2024

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 a new series high of 824,300 jobs in March 2024.

Figure 8: Employee jobs increase to new series high.

NI index of employee jobs, March 2009 to March 2024 (Quarter 1)
Chart
Note: graph has a non-zero axis
Table
Quarter NI UK
Q1 2009 100.0 100.0
Q2 2009 99.3 99.4
Q3 2009 99.1 98.8
Q4 2009 99.5 98.3
Q1 2010 99.2 98.1
Q2 2010 99.0 98.2
Q3 2010 98.6 98.0
Q4 2010 98.1 97.9
Q1 2011 97.8 98.3
Q2 2011 97.4 98.0
Q3 2011 97.4 98.2
Q4 2011 96.7 98.4
Q1 2012 96.6 99.3
Q2 2012 97.0 98.9
Q3 2012 97.3 98.7
Q4 2012 97.3 98.7
Q1 2013 97.3 99.3
Q2 2013 98.0 99.7
Q3 2013 98.8 100.1
Q4 2013 98.6 100.8
Q1 2014 99.4 101.6
Q2 2014 99.3 102.7
Q3 2014 101.0 103.3
Q4 2014 100.9 103.8
Q1 2015 101.2 104.7
Q2 2015 101.7 104.9
Q3 2015 102.4 105.4
Q4 2015 102.1 105.8
Q1 2016 102.3 106.5
Q2 2016 102.7 106.9
Q3 2016 103.0 107.2
Q4 2016 103.5 107.2
Q1 2017 104.2 107.9
Q2 2017 105.0 107.9
Q3 2017 105.1 108.4
Q4 2017 106.2 108.3
Q1 2018 106.7 108.4
Q2 2018 107.1 108.5
Q3 2018 107.2 109.1
Q4 2018 108.2 109.3
Q1 2019 108.5 109.7
Q2 2019 108.4 110.0
Q3 2019 108.8 110.5
Q4 2019 109.1 110.4
Q1 2020 109.0 110.8
Q2 2020 108.6 109.8
Q3 2020 107.9 108.3
Q4 2020 107.7 108.3
Q1 2021 107.7 108.9
Q2 2021 107.7 110.0
Q3 2021 108.8 111.1
Q4 2021 109.5 111.7
Q1 2022 111.5 112.6
Q2 2022 111.8 113.4
Q3 2022 112.3 113.7
Q4 2022 113.5 114.6
Q1 2023 114.0 115.6
Q2 2023 114.1 115.9
Q3 2023 115.1 116.5
Q4 2023 114.6 116.7
Q1 2024 115.3 117.2


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 133,270 more employee jobs in NI since the lowest point in March 2012, and 5,382,000 more jobs in the UK since December 2010.

The seasonally adjusted employee jobs total in Northern Ireland at March 2024 was 824,300, which was:

  • an increase of 0.6% (4,580 jobs) over the quarter from the revised December 2023 estimate of 819,710; and
  • an increase of 1.2% (9,470 jobs) over the year from the revised March 2023 estimate of 814,820.
  • Neither the quarterly nor annual changes in employee jobs were statistically significant.


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 NI economic inactivity rate was unchanged over the quarter and decreased over the year to 27.0%.
  • The most recent UK economic inactivity rate for February-April 2024 was estimated at 22.3%.

Figure 9: NI economic inactivity consistently above UK average

Seasonally adjusted economic inactivity rates (Aged 16 to 64), Feb-Apr 2009 to Feb-Apr 2024
Chart
Note: graph has a non-zero axis
Table
Date Northern Ireland United Kingdom
Feb-Apr 2009 31.0 22.9
May-Jul 2009 31.3 23.3
Aug-Oct 2009 30.2 23.3
Nov-Jan 2010 30.0 23.6
Feb-Apr 2010 28.7 23.6
May-Jul 2010 28.7 23.3
Aug-Oct 2010 28.8 23.3
Nov-Jan 2011 28.2 23.3
Feb-Apr 2011 27.5 23.5
May-Jul 2011 27.4 23.5
Aug-Oct 2011 27.2 23.3
Nov-Jan 2012 27.2 23.2
Feb-Apr 2012 27.7 23.1
May-Jul 2012 27.0 22.6
Aug-Oct 2012 26.9 22.8
Nov-Jan 2013 27.5 22.5
Feb-Apr 2013 27.2 22.6
May-Jul 2013 27.4 22.5
Aug-Oct 2013 27.5 22.3
Nov-Jan 2014 26.9 22.3
Feb-Apr 2014 27.0 22.1
May-Jul 2014 27.1 22.4
Aug-Oct 2014 27.1 22.3
Nov-Jan 2015 28.0 22.3
Feb-Apr 2015 27.2 22.3
May-Jul 2015 27.5 22.2
Aug-Oct 2015 26.9 22.0
Nov-Jan 2016 26.6 22.0
Feb-Apr 2016 25.9 21.9
May-Jul 2016 26.3 21.7
Aug-Oct 2016 25.9 21.8
Nov-Jan 2017 26.5 21.8
Feb-Apr 2017 27.2 21.7
May-Jul 2017 27.9 21.4
Aug-Oct 2017 28.7 21.7
Nov-Jan 2018 28.0 21.4
Feb-Apr 2018 27.7 21.2
May-Jul 2018 27.1 21.5
Aug-Oct 2018 27.8 21.2
Nov-Jan 2019 26.4 21.0
Feb-Apr 2019 26.4 21.0
May-Jul 2019 25.8 21.1
Aug-Oct 2019 25.9 21.1
Nov-Jan 2020 25.9 20.7
Feb-Apr 2020 27.3 21.0
May-Jul 2020 27.8 21.2
Aug-Oct 2020 27.4 21.4
Nov-Jan 2021 29.0 21.6
Feb-Apr 2021 29.0 21.7
May-Jul 2021 27.9 21.5
Aug-Oct 2021 28.7 21.6
Nov-Jan 2022 28.9 21.8
Feb-Apr 2022 27.8 21.7
May-Jul 2022 28.2 22.1
Aug-Oct 2022 27.4 21.9
Nov-Jan 2023 27.5 21.7
Feb-Apr 2023 27.1 21.4
May-Jul 2023 28.2 21.6
Aug-Oct 2023 27.7 21.8
Nov-Jan 2024 27.0 22.0
Feb-Apr 2024 27.0 22.3


Figure 9 shows that, over the last 15 years, economic inactivity in NI has been consistently higher than the UK average, with more variability in economic inactivity in NI than the UK. Economic inactivity in NI peaked during this time-period in 2009 at over 31%, compared to the lower peak in the UK rate of almost 24% at the beginning of 2010.

During the ten years to 2019, the trend for both the UK and NI economic inactivity rates was generally downward. From the onset of the COVID pandemic, both UK and NI economic inactivity rates increased. Since early-2021 however, the trends have varied, with the NI rate trending downwards whilst the UK rate is trending upwards. Over the last year, the economic inactivity rate in NI has seen a decrease of 0.1pps whilst the UK rate has seen an increase of 0.8pps. The most recent economic inactivity rates for NI (27.0%) and the UK (22.3%) were 1.1pps and 1.6pps higher than their pre-pandemic equivalents in November-January 2020.

The NI economic inactivity rate (aged 16 to 64) for February-April 2024 was estimated at 27.0%, which was:

  • unchanged from last quarter; and
  • a decrease of 0.1pps over the year (not statistically significant).

The number of economically inactive people (age 16 and over) in NI was estimated at 615,000, which was:

  • down 1,000 from last quarter; and
  • up 7,000 from the same period last year.

Annual changes by sex (for those aged 16 to 64) showed:

  • an increase of 0.6pps over the year in the male economic inactivity rate to 23.5%; and
  • a decrease of 0.8pps over the year in the female economic inactivity rate to 30.5%.

UK regional comparison:

  • The NI economic inactivity rate (aged 16 to 64) of 27.0% was 4.8pps above the most recent UK rate of 22.3%.
  • the third highest of the twelve UK regions.

Please note that the following estimates are not adjusted for seasonality.

Reasons for inactivity:

  • In February-April 2024, the most common reason for economic inactivity among the working age population was ‘long-term sick’. There were 126,000 ‘long-term sick’, accounting for 39.7% of the total economically inactive (aged 16 to 64), or 10.7% of the working age population. This was a decrease of 5,000 (-3.5%) from the same period last year and 23,000 (+22.2%) higher than the pre-pandemic figure in November-January 2020.
  • Compared to the pre-pandemic figures in November-January 2020, there has been an increase in the number of ‘long-term sick’ (+23,000) and ‘student’ (+14,000), however the totals for ‘family and home care’ (-17,000) and ‘retired’ (-2,000) have decreased.

Inactivity by Age:

  • In February-April 2024, those aged 65 and over (298,000) made up the highest proportion (48.5%) of the total economically inactive (age 16 and over), with those aged 25 to 34 (38,000) making up the lowest proportion (6.2%) across the age groups.
  • Those aged 65 and over had the highest economic inactivity rate (89.5%), whilst those aged 35 to 49 had the lowest (16.1%). These rates are similar to the pre-pandemic rates in November-January 2020 (89.6% and 15.3% respectively).


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), claimant count, redundancies counts, and HMRC PAYE statistics. The LMR also contains an overview from the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) in March, June, September and December. 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 comparisons between:

  • LFS unemployment and experimental claimant count
  • LFS employment and the number of paid employees from HMRC PAYE RTI
  • LFS employment and QES employee jobs
  • HMRC PAYE RTI and Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)
  • Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) and HMRC PAYE RTI

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. The sampling variability of the Northern Ireland estimates can be found in Table 2.49 of the LFS monthly tables, published alongside this report on the NISRA website. We would expect that in 95% of samples the range would contain the true value.

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 methodology for determining the response rate for the NI LFS has been revised to follow the same methodology as that used in ONS. This allows for the comparability of the response rate against the UK.

The achieved sample size for the Northern Ireland Labour Force Survey during January to March 2024 was 2,332, a decrease of 11.7% from the same period last year.

Table 1: LFS Response rates, October-December 2021 to January to March 2024

Period NI Response Rate (%) UK Response Rate (%)
October-December 2021 28.2 26.6
January-March 2022 33.3 27.2
April-June 2022 43.3 27.8
July-September 2022 46.4 26.1
October-December 2022 47.4 23.6
January-March 2023 48.0 21.5
April-June 2023 47.4 19.6
July-September 2023 43.9 17.4
October-December 2023 41.9 18.8
January-March 2024 36.1 21.3

Please note, response rates are updated quarterly.

LFS revisions

LFS microdata are routinely revised to incorporate the latest population estimates. The population totals for January-March 2020 to June-August 2022, however, used projected growth rates from RTI data for UK, EU and non-EU populations based on 2021 patterns. The total population used at that time for the LFS therefore did not take into account any changes in migration, birth rates, death rates etc. since June 2021 and hence the estimates of levels may have been under- or over-estimating the true values and should be used with caution. Estimates of rates for this period will, however, be robust.

The latest LFS reweighting was introduced in February 2024, affecting data from July-September 2022 to September-November 2023, to incorporate the latest estimates of the size and composition of the UK population. Previous reweightings occured in October 2020, July 2021 and June 2022 and an overview of the impact of reweighting on the NI estimates of unemployment, employment, and economic inactivity is available on the NISRA website.

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 February-April 2024 should be compared with the estimates for November-January 2024. This provides a more robust estimate than comparing with the estimates for January-March 2024, as the February and March 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 may have on the precision of the figures, estimates for long-term unemployment, youth unemployment and annual changes in unemployment by sex have not been included in this bulletin this month.

Claimant Count

Experimental claimant count

This 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.

Also, a seasonal adjustment review takes place once a year. Typically, the last 3 years are revised and this takes the most recent year of data into account when determining the seasonal adjustment model. These revisions affect only the seasonally adjusted data.

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.

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 revisions

QES estimates are revised quarterly to reflect the latest information provided to the Department by employers. The December 2023 seasonally adjusted estimate first published in March 2024 has been revised up by 0.2%. 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:

Quarterly Employment Survey

Ciaran Kerr
Email:

HMRC PAYE

Ashleigh Warwick
Email:


Web: Labour Market and Social Welfare
Twitter: NISRA

Accredited Official Statistics logo

7. Accredited Official Statistics Status

These official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in August 2010 following a full assessment of Labour Market Statistics for Northern Ireland against the Code of Practice for Statistics. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and are therefore labelled as accredited official statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. For further information, please refer to the Office for Statistics Regulation accredited official statistics webpage.

As outlined above, our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards using the details in Section 6.

Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing or via the OSR website.