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 February 2025 was 809,300, an increase of 0.2% over the month and an increase of 1.3% over the year.

Employment section 3.3
Earnings from HMRC PAYE indicated that NI employees had a median monthly pay of £2,295 in February 2025, a decrease of £2 (0.1%) over the month and an increase of £137 (6.3%) over the year.

Employment section 3.4
In February 2025, the seasonally adjusted number of people on the claimant count was 40,800 (4.2% of the workforce), an increase of 3.0% from the previous month’s revised figure. The February 2025 claimant count remains 36.5% 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 90 redundancies occurred in February 2025. Over the year March 2024 to February 2025, 1,880 redundancies were confirmed. There were 150 proposed redundancies in February 2025, taking the annual total to 3,060.

Unemployment section 2.3
Businesses reported that employee jobs increased over the quarter (0.2%) and increased over the year (1.6%) to 832,180 jobs in December 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 November-January 2025 was estimated from the Labour Force Survey at 1.5%. This was unchanged over the quarter and a decrease of 0.7 percentage points (pps) 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 decreased by 0.5pps over the year to 72.2%.

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 increased by 1.0pps over the year to 26.6%.

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 29.2 million hours, a decrease of 1.8% on the previous quarter and an increase of 1.9% 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. From the Labour Force Survey, the unemployment rate saw a decrease. However, the employment rate has also decreased, and the economic inactivity rate has increased.

The latest HMRC payroll data shows that payrolled employees increased by 0.2% over the month and increased by 1.3% over the year. Payrolled earnings decreased by 0.1% over the month and were 6.3% higher than February 2024.

Households reported, via the Labour Force Survey (LFS), over the year to November-January 2025, decreases in both the unemployment rate (by 0.7pps to 1.5%) and the employment rate (by 0.5pps to 72.2%), while the economic inactivity rate increased by 1.0pps to 26.6%. None of these annual changes, however, were statistically significant.

The total number of hours worked in November-January 2025 increased by 1.9% over the year, to 29.2 million hours per week. This figure is 0.2% above the pre-pandemic position recorded in November-January 2020 and 2.0% below the record level recorded in this time series in August-October 2019 (29.8 million hours per week).

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 of 832,180 in December 2024. Quarterly increases in employee jobs were seen within the manufacturing, construction and services sectors. A quarterly decrease was seen within the other industry sector. Employee jobs within the manufacturing and services sectors reached new series highs in December 2024. There were increases in employee jobs over the year within the manufacturing, construction, services and other industry sectors to December 2024.

In February 2025, the Department was notified of 90 confirmed redundancies, bringing the rolling twelve-month total of confirmed redundancies to 1,880, approximately three-quarters of the figure for the previous year (2,430). There were also 150 proposed redundancies reported to the Department in February 2025 which brought the annual total to 3,060, around four-fifths of the figure for the previous year (3,920). Both the twelve-month totals of proposed and confirmed redundancies are similar to the levels seen in the decade preceding the pandemic.

Finally, there was an increase of 3.0% in the claimant count estimate over the month to February 2025 from the revised figure for January 2025. The claimant count rate for February 2025 increased to 4.2% from the revised rate for January 2025 (4.0%). February 2025 is the eighth consecutive month that the claimant count rate has been within the range 4.0% to 4.2%.

1.3 Things users need to know

Labour Force Survey seasonal adjustment review

Today’s publication is the first Labour Market Report to contain data from an exercise recently undertaken by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to review the seasonal adjustment of the Labour Force Survey. This review has affected estimates from January-March 2019 to October-December 2024 with minimal impact.

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 Great Britain.

The latest update on the transformation in NI can be found in the Labour Market Statistics – Newsletter published on the 24th January 2024.

Prior to this, on 10th April 2024, NISRA published The Transformation of Labour Market Statistics in Northern Ireland – NISRA User Information Paper April 2024. This paper provided background on the current LFS together 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) follows an online first approach, highlighting how both the content of the questionnaire and the supporting field operation have been tailored to meet local needs.

Alongside this, an LMS & LFS Mapping Document - April 2024 was published. This document compared all of the questionnaire variables in the LMS to the equivalent in the LFS and highlights the differences and similarities between the two surveys.

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.

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 November-January 2025 was unchanged over the quarter and decreased over the year to 1.5%.
  • The most recent UK unemployment rate for November-January 2025 was estimated at 4.4%.

Figure 1: The latest NI unemployment rate remains historically low

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (Age 16 and over), Nov-Jan 2010 to Nov-Jan 2025
Chart
Table
Date Northern Ireland United Kingdom
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 8.3
Feb-Apr 2012 7.0 8.2
May-Jul 2012 8.2 8.0
Aug-Oct 2012 7.8 7.8
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 7.1
Feb-Apr 2014 6.7 6.6
May-Jul 2014 6.6 6.1
Aug-Oct 2014 6.4 5.9
Nov-Jan 2015 6.0 5.6
Feb-Apr 2015 6.0 5.5
May-Jul 2015 6.1 5.5
Aug-Oct 2015 6.2 5.2
Nov-Jan 2016 6.1 5.1
Feb-Apr 2016 5.6 5.0
May-Jul 2016 5.3 4.9
Aug-Oct 2016 5.7 4.8
Nov-Jan 2017 5.8 4.7
Feb-Apr 2017 5.3 4.5
May-Jul 2017 5.0 4.3
Aug-Oct 2017 3.9 4.2
Nov-Jan 2018 3.3 4.3
Feb-Apr 2018 3.3 4.2
May-Jul 2018 3.8 4.0
Aug-Oct 2018 3.6 4.1
Nov-Jan 2019 3.5 3.9
Feb-Apr 2019 3.1 3.8
May-Jul 2019 2.8 3.9
Aug-Oct 2019 2.3 3.8
Nov-Jan 2020 2.4 3.9
Feb-Apr 2020 2.6 4.1
May-Jul 2020 3.4 4.4
Aug-Oct 2020 4.2 5.2
Nov-Jan 2021 4.2 5.2
Feb-Apr 2021 3.4 4.8
May-Jul 2021 4.3 4.6
Aug-Oct 2021 3.9 4.3
Nov-Jan 2022 3.2 4.1
Feb-Apr 2022 2.7 3.8
May-Jul 2022 3.0 3.6
Aug-Oct 2022 2.7 3.8
Nov-Jan 2023 2.2 3.9
Feb-Apr 2023 2.2 3.9
May-Jul 2023 2.5 4.3
Aug-Oct 2023 2.0 4.0
Nov-Jan 2024 2.2 4.1
Feb-Apr 2024 2.1 4.4
May-Jul 2024 1.9 4.2
Aug-Oct 2024 1.6 4.3
Nov-Jan 2025 1.5 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 then decreased. Over the most recent year to November-January 2025, the NI unemployment rate decreased by 0.7pps to 1.5%, the lowest rate in this time series, while the UK unemployment rate increased by 0.3pps to 4.4%.

The NI unemployment rate (age 16 and over) for the period November-January 2025 was estimated at 1.5%. This was:

  • unchanged over the quarter; and
  • a decrease of 0.7pps over the year (not statistically significant).

The number of unemployed people (age 16 and over) in NI was estimated at 14,000, which was:

  • unchanged over the quarter; and
  • down 6,000 from the same period last year.

UK regional comparison:

  • The NI unemployment rate (age 16 and over) of 1.5% was 2.8pps 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 February 2025, the NI claimant count increased by 3.0% to 40,800.
  • In February 2025, 4.2% of the NI workforce were recorded on the claimant count.

Figure 2: Increase in the seasonally adjusted claimant count rate over the month

NI seasonally adjusted claimant count (experimental) monthly rates, February 2010 to February 2025
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Undercount Rate
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
Jun 2024 3.9
Jul 2024 4.1
Aug 2024 4.2
Sep 2024 4.2
Oct 2024 4.2
Nov 2024 4.1
Dec 2024 4.0
Jan 2025 4.0
Feb 2025 4.2


In February 2025, 40,800 people were recorded on the NI Claimant Count. This is 36.5% less than the recent peak in May 2020 and 36.5% 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. This is the eighth consecutive month that the claimant count rate has been within the range 4.0% to 4.2%. The increases seen between May 2024 and September 2024 are largely due to the increase in the administrative earnings threshold for Universal Credit. More information on this change can be found in the Press Statement released by the Department for Work and Pensions on 13 May 2024.

The NI seasonally adjusted claimant count was 40,800 (4.2% of the workforce) in February 2025, representing:

  • an increase of 1,200 (3.0%) over the month
  • an increase of 4,700 (13.0%) over the year, and
  • an increase of 10,900 (36.5%) since March 2020.

Changes by sex:

  • an increase of 2.0% in males and an increase of 4.2% in females over the month, and
  • an increase of 5.0% in males and an increase of 23.7% in females over the year.

Changes by age:

  • Over the year, there has been a 0.5% decrease in claimants aged 16 to 24, with increases in claimants aged 25 to 49 (14.9%) and those aged 50 and over (16.3%).
  • Compared to the pre-pandemic counts in March 2020, there has been a decrease in the number of claimants in the 16-24 age-band (3.3%), with increases for the 25 to 49 (50.4%) and the 50 and over (24.9%) age-bands.

Changes by Local Government District:

  • Over the year, there have been increases in all Local Government Districts, with the largest increases seen in Fermanagh and Omagh (31.4%) and Mid Ulster (24.9%).

UK regional comparison:

  • The UK seasonally adjusted claimant count increased by 2.6% over the month to 1,775,000 (4.7% of the workforce).
  • The UK count is 34.2% below the recent peak in August 2020 and 44.3% 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

  • 90 redundancies were confirmed in February 2025, taking the annual total to 1,880, which was approximately three-quarters of the figure for the previous year (2,430).
  • There were 150 proposed redundancies in February 2025, taking the annual total to 3,060, which was around four-fifths of the figure for the previous year (3,920).

Figure 3: Latest annual total of proposed and confirmed redundancies considerably lower than previous year

NI confirmed and proposed redundancies, Annual totals, Mar 2009-Feb 2010 to Mar 2024-Feb 2025
Chart
Table
Year Proposed Confirmed
2009/10 4,690 4,110
2010/11 2,550 1,960
2011/12 2,930 1,870
2012/13 3,750 3,480
2013/14 2,640 2,170
2014/15 4,030 2,130
2015/16 4,360 1,990
2016/17 3,880 3,550
2017/18 3,270 1,820
2018/19 2,660 2,360
2019/20 4,390 3,050
2020/21 10,650 5,780
2021/22 2,040 2,070
2022/23 2,180 940
2023/24 3,920 2,430
2024/25 3,060 1,880


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 February 2025 total of confirmed redundancies (90) was well below the monthly averages for 2023 (220) and 2024 (150) but higher than the average seen in 2022 (60). The rolling twelve-month total (1,880), is similar to the figures reported in the last two months and is still below the majority of totals seen over the previous year.

The number of proposed redundancies in February 2025 (150) is less than the monthly averages for 2023 (360) and 2024 (250) and is similar to the average for 2022 (130). The rolling twelve-month total of 3,060 is similar to the trend seen before the pandemic.

Confirmed redundancies

During February 2025, the Department was notified of:

  • 90 confirmed redundancies, three-fifths of the monthly average for 2024 (150).

Over the last twelve months, to the end of February 2025, there were:

  • 1,880 confirmed redundancies, approximately three-quarters of the figure for the previous year (2,430).
  • 520 confirmed redundancies (27.6%) in the manufacturing sector.
  • 420 confirmed redundancies (22.4%) in the education sector.
  • 390 confirmed redundancies (20.6%) in the financial and insurance activities sector.

Proposed redundancies

During February 2025, the Department was notified of:

  • 150 proposed redundancies, three-fifths of the monthly average (250) during 2024.

Over the last twelve months, to the end of February 2025, there were:

  • 3,060 proposed redundancies, which was around four-fifths of the figure for the previous year (3,920).
  • 1,100 proposed redundancies (36.1%) in the manufacturing sector.
  • 350 proposed redundancies (11.5%) in the information and communication sector.
  • 290 proposed redundancies (9.6%) in the financial and insurance activities 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 November-January 2025 was unchanged over the quarter and decreased over the year to 72.2%.
  • The most recent UK employment rate for November-January 2025 was estimated at 75.0%.

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

Seasonally adjusted employment rate (Aged 16 to 64), Nov-Jan 2010 to Nov-Jan 2025
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Northern Ireland United Kingdom
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 71.1
Aug-Oct 2012 67.3 71.1
Nov-Jan 2013 66.4 71.4
Feb-Apr 2013 67.1 71.2
May-Jul 2013 67.5 71.5
Aug-Oct 2013 66.8 71.9
Nov-Jan 2014 67.6 72.1
Feb-Apr 2014 67.9 72.7
May-Jul 2014 67.9 72.8
Aug-Oct 2014 68.1 73.0
Nov-Jan 2015 67.6 73.3
Feb-Apr 2015 68.3 73.4
May-Jul 2015 67.9 73.5
Aug-Oct 2015 68.5 73.9
Nov-Jan 2016 68.8 74.0
Feb-Apr 2016 69.8 74.1
May-Jul 2016 69.7 74.5
Aug-Oct 2016 69.7 74.4
Nov-Jan 2017 69.1 74.5
Feb-Apr 2017 68.8 74.7
May-Jul 2017 68.3 75.2
Aug-Oct 2017 68.4 75.0
Nov-Jan 2018 69.5 75.2
Feb-Apr 2018 69.8 75.5
May-Jul 2018 70.0 75.4
Aug-Oct 2018 69.5 75.6
Nov-Jan 2019 70.9 76.0
Feb-Apr 2019 71.5 76.0
May-Jul 2019 72.1 76.0
Aug-Oct 2019 72.4 76.0
Nov-Jan 2020 72.3 76.4
Feb-Apr 2020 70.2 75.7
May-Jul 2020 69.5 75.3
Aug-Oct 2020 69.7 74.5
Nov-Jan 2021 68.5 74.3
Feb-Apr 2021 69.2 74.4
May-Jul 2021 69.5 74.8
Aug-Oct 2021 68.4 75.0
Nov-Jan 2022 69.0 75.0
Feb-Apr 2022 70.0 75.2
May-Jul 2022 69.9 75.0
Aug-Oct 2022 71.3 75.0
Nov-Jan 2023 71.8 75.2
Feb-Apr 2023 72.0 75.5
May-Jul 2023 71.3 74.9
Aug-Oct 2023 72.7 74.9
Nov-Jan 2024 72.7 74.7
Feb-Apr 2024 72.7 74.4
May-Jul 2024 72.7 74.7
Aug-Oct 2024 72.2 74.9
Nov-Jan 2025 72.2 75.0


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 was similar to the pre-pandemic rates recorded in November-January 2020, while the UK rate was 1.4pps below the UK pre-pandemic rate of 76.4%.

The most recent NI employment rate (aged 16 to 64) for the period November-January 2025 was estimated at 72.2%. This was:

  • unchanged over the quarter; and
  • a decrease of 0.5pps over the year (not statistically significant);

The number of employed people (age 16 and over) in NI was estimated at 899,000, which was:

  • up 2,000 from last quarter; and
  • up 2,000 from the same period last year.

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

  • the male employment rate (75.7%) increased by 0.1pps over the year; and
  • the female employment rate (68.9%) decreased by 1.1pps over the year.

UK regional comparison:

  • The NI employment rate (aged 16 to 64) of 72.2% was 2.8pps below the most recent UK rate of 75.0%.
  • the third lowest of the twelve UK regions.

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

Self-employment:

  • In November-January 2025, there were 116,000 self-employed, an increase of 2,000 (+1.6%) on a year ago, and 22,000 lower (16.1%) than the pre-pandemic figure in November-January 2020.
  • The proportion who were self-employed (12.9%) remains below the pre-pandemic proportion (15.5% recorded in November-January 2020).

Employment by Age:

  • In November-January 2025, those aged 35 to 49 had the highest employment rate (84.2%), whilst those aged 16 to 24 had the lowest (49.3%).
  • Compared to the pre-pandemic rates in November-January 2020, the employment rate for those aged 50 to 64 saw the largest increase (by 1.7pps, from 64.4% to 66.1%), whilst the rate for those aged 16 to 24 saw the largest, and only, decrease (by -7.0pps, from 56.4% to 49.3%).

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 November-January 2025 was estimated at 29.2 million hours per week.
  • This was a decrease of 1.8% on the previous quarter and an increase of 1.9% on the same period last year.

Figure 5: Hours worked similar to pre-pandemic level

Total weekly hours worked (Age 16 and over), Nov-Jan 2010 to Nov-Jan 2025
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Total weekly hours
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 29.7
May-Jul 2019 29.5
Aug-Oct 2019 29.8
Nov-Jan 2020 29.1
Feb-Apr 2020 26.2
May-Jul 2020 23.6
Aug-Oct 2020 26.2
Nov-Jan 2021 25.7
Feb-Apr 2021 26.1
May-Jul 2021 26.5
Aug-Oct 2021 27.3
Nov-Jan 2022 26.7
Feb-Apr 2022 28.2
May-Jul 2022 27.6
Aug-Oct 2022 28.2
Nov-Jan 2023 28.2
Feb-Apr 2023 29.1
May-Jul 2023 28.2
Aug-Oct 2023 29.1
Nov-Jan 2024 28.6
Feb-Apr 2024 29.1
May-Jul 2024 29.3
Aug-Oct 2024 29.7
Nov-Jan 2025 29.2


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 November-January 2025 remained 2.0% below the peak in this series of 29.8 million hours in August-October 2019.

The total number of weekly hours worked in NI in November-January 2025 was estimated at 29.2 million hours, this was:

  • a decrease of 0.5 million hours (1.8%) on the previous quarter;
  • an increase of 0.6 million hours (1.9%) from the same period last year; and
  • 0.2% above the pre-pandemic (November-January 2020) figure.

The average number of weekly hours worked in November-January 2025 was estimated at 36.4 hours for those in full-time employment, and at 16.9 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 38.1 hours, whereas for females it was 33.9 hours.
  • for those in part-time employment, the average weekly hours worked for males was 16.8 hours, whereas for females it was 16.9 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 increased by 0.2% over the month and increased by 1.3% over the year to February 2025.
  • In the UK, the number of payrolled employees increased by 0.1% over the month and increased by 0.2% over the year to February 2025.

Figure 6: Number of payrolled employees increased over the month

NI payrolled employees (experimental) from PAYE RTI, July 2014 to February 2025
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Northern Ireland
Jul 2014 674,341
Aug 2014 675,871
Sep 2014 676,829
Oct 2014 677,825
Nov 2014 679,761
Dec 2014 679,779
Jan 2015 684,489
Feb 2015 686,968
Mar 2015 688,297
Apr 2015 690,748
May 2015 691,747
Jun 2015 694,319
Jul 2015 696,248
Aug 2015 697,513
Sep 2015 700,106
Oct 2015 700,645
Nov 2015 701,473
Dec 2015 701,321
Jan 2016 702,948
Feb 2016 703,685
Mar 2016 704,742
Apr 2016 704,356
May 2016 705,466
Jun 2016 705,548
Jul 2016 706,333
Aug 2016 707,914
Sep 2016 709,298
Oct 2016 710,477
Nov 2016 713,232
Dec 2016 713,798
Jan 2017 712,834
Feb 2017 714,806
Mar 2017 716,315
Apr 2017 716,527
May 2017 718,837
Jun 2017 720,457
Jul 2017 721,155
Aug 2017 722,699
Sep 2017 724,070
Oct 2017 725,360
Nov 2017 726,640
Dec 2017 729,950
Jan 2018 729,827
Feb 2018 731,278
Mar 2018 731,988
Apr 2018 733,026
May 2018 734,480
Jun 2018 735,129
Jul 2018 736,477
Aug 2018 738,086
Sep 2018 739,300
Oct 2018 740,941
Nov 2018 741,722
Dec 2018 742,946
Jan 2019 744,156
Feb 2019 745,013
Mar 2019 746,722
Apr 2019 746,781
May 2019 747,582
Jun 2019 746,237
Jul 2019 748,549
Aug 2019 748,970
Sep 2019 749,526
Oct 2019 749,860
Nov 2019 751,410
Dec 2019 751,840
Jan 2020 753,552
Feb 2020 754,692
Mar 2020 755,155
Apr 2020 743,355
May 2020 742,832
Jun 2020 741,795
Jul 2020 743,101
Aug 2020 739,084
Sep 2020 739,237
Oct 2020 738,451
Nov 2020 736,828
Dec 2020 737,856
Jan 2021 739,754
Feb 2021 740,211
Mar 2021 741,884
Apr 2021 742,343
May 2021 748,703
Jun 2021 754,816
Jul 2021 761,114
Aug 2021 760,986
Sep 2021 762,159
Oct 2021 763,302
Nov 2021 765,778
Dec 2021 768,531
Jan 2022 770,644
Feb 2022 771,603
Mar 2022 773,818
Apr 2022 774,529
May 2022 776,212
Jun 2022 775,400
Jul 2022 777,677
Aug 2022 780,729
Sep 2022 780,152
Oct 2022 781,271
Nov 2022 782,797
Dec 2022 784,790
Jan 2023 785,058
Feb 2023 786,490
Mar 2023 790,040
Apr 2023 789,147
May 2023 789,422
Jun 2023 789,569
Jul 2023 790,657
Aug 2023 792,438
Sep 2023 794,550
Oct 2023 796,597
Nov 2023 797,295
Dec 2023 798,438
Jan 2024 798,813
Feb 2024 799,302
Mar 2024 800,117
Apr 2024 801,402
May 2024 803,431
Jun 2024 805,132
Jul 2024 805,914
Aug 2024 805,769
Sep 2024 806,118
Oct 2024 806,322
Nov 2024 806,724
Dec 2024 805,775
Jan 2025 808,079
Feb 2025 809,304


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 12,000 employees (1.6%) to April 2020. Employee numbers then remained at a similar level until April 2021 when they returned to a general upward trend once again. Between June and December 2024, the number of payrolled employees stayed consistent at approximately 805,000, before rising by 3,500 (0.4%) since the beginning of the year.

Data from the latest HMRC PAYE RTI show that:

  • 809,300 people were payrolled employees in February 2025, a 0.2% increase from the previous month and a 1.3% increase over the year.
  • In the UK, there were 30,432,900 payrolled employees in February 2025, an increase of 0.1% over the month and an increase of 0.2% over the year.
  • Over the year, Scotland was the only UK region to see a decline in payrolled employees with a decrease of 0.1%, while Northern Ireland recorded the largest increase at 1.3%.
  • Between March 2020 and February 2025, all regions of the UK recorded an increase in payrolled employees (4.9% overall). Northern Ireland recorded the largest increase (7.2%) 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 decreased by 0.1% (£2) over the month to £2,295 in February 2025 and increased by 6.3% (£137) over the year.
  • UK median monthly pay decreased by 0.4% (£9) over the month to £2,465 in February 2025 and increased by 5.0% (£118) over the year.

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

Median Monthly Pay (experimental) from PAYE RTI, July 2014 to February 2025
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Northern Ireland UK
Jul 2014 1490 1598
Aug 2014 1488 1602
Sep 2014 1489 1601
Oct 2014 1493 1605
Nov 2014 1499 1607
Dec 2014 1517 1616
Jan 2015 1500 1620
Feb 2015 1495 1620
Mar 2015 1501 1618
Apr 2015 1498 1613
May 2015 1498 1615
Jun 2015 1492 1617
Jul 2015 1493 1620
Aug 2015 1489 1617
Sep 2015 1495 1619
Oct 2015 1496 1626
Nov 2015 1495 1629
Dec 2015 1500 1631
Jan 2016 1503 1638
Feb 2016 1509 1640
Mar 2016 1519 1645
Apr 2016 1513 1651
May 2016 1515 1652
Jun 2016 1516 1654
Jul 2016 1521 1659
Aug 2016 1528 1660
Sep 2016 1529 1664
Oct 2016 1523 1663
Nov 2016 1532 1666
Dec 2016 1533 1667
Jan 2017 1535 1668
Feb 2017 1535 1677
Mar 2017 1544 1686
Apr 2017 1545 1688
May 2017 1546 1690
Jun 2017 1556 1695
Jul 2017 1556 1693
Aug 2017 1562 1700
Sep 2017 1565 1704
Oct 2017 1566 1706
Nov 2017 1575 1713
Dec 2017 1583 1721
Jan 2018 1572 1725
Feb 2018 1592 1728
Mar 2018 1590 1729
Apr 2018 1587 1729
May 2018 1605 1749
Jun 2018 1611 1756
Jul 2018 1614 1751
Aug 2018 1621 1772
Sep 2018 1622 1761
Oct 2018 1631 1767
Nov 2018 1638 1778
Dec 2018 1639 1772
Jan 2019 1649 1784
Feb 2019 1690 1791
Mar 2019 1658 1799
Apr 2019 1670 1808
May 2019 1681 1815
Jun 2019 1674 1812
Jul 2019 1682 1819
Aug 2019 1683 1826
Sep 2019 1687 1821
Oct 2019 1693 1825
Nov 2019 1689 1830
Dec 2019 1683 1836
Jan 2020 1704 1852
Feb 2020 1712 1861
Mar 2020 1740 1845
Apr 2020 1657 1791
May 2020 1665 1798
Jun 2020 1709 1829
Jul 2020 1742 1859
Aug 2020 1747 1881
Sep 2020 1769 1900
Oct 2020 1779 1911
Nov 2020 1781 1912
Dec 2020 1796 1925
Jan 2021 1786 1930
Feb 2021 1793 1942
Mar 2021 1797 1948
Apr 2021 1812 1963
May 2021 1805 1962
Jun 2021 1823 1975
Jul 2021 1877 1979
Aug 2021 1820 1987
Sep 2021 1851 2008
Oct 2021 1859 2009
Nov 2021 1859 2015
Dec 2021 1917 2036
Jan 2022 1939 2049
Feb 2022 1918 2055
Mar 2022 1926 2075
Apr 2022 1939 2078
May 2022 1939 2084
Jun 2022 1939 2103
Jul 2022 1955 2111
Aug 2022 1971 2120
Sep 2022 1969 2147
Oct 2022 1986 2146
Nov 2022 2012 2188
Dec 2022 2025 2189
Jan 2023 2044 2193
Feb 2023 2056 2209
Mar 2023 2109 2215
Apr 2023 2063 2227
May 2023 2071 2253
Jun 2023 2076 2303
Jul 2023 2081 2269
Aug 2023 2089 2279
Sep 2023 2100 2275
Oct 2023 2110 2278
Nov 2023 2129 2324
Dec 2023 2152 2326
Jan 2024 2139 2333
Feb 2024 2158 2347
Mar 2024 2169 2356
Apr 2024 2195 2373
May 2024 2235 2384
Jun 2024 2309 2389
Jul 2024 2238 2400
Aug 2024 2305 2413
Sep 2024 2249 2409
Oct 2024 2276 2457
Nov 2024 2289 2472
Dec 2024 2290 2454
Jan 2025 2297 2474
Feb 2025 2295 2465


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.

Median monthly pay in NI and the UK increased overall between mid-2015 and early 2020. In NI, an increase of 1.6% in median pay was recorded between February and March 2020, followed by a decrease of 4.8% between March and April 2020. The UK also saw a decrease between March and April 2020 of 2.9%. These monthly decreases coincided with decreases in the number of paid employees recorded in April 2020. Over the past year, there have been two major rises in median earnings, followed by comparable decreases, which aligned with local pay awards. However, the most recent month experienced the first decline in five months, following a period of consistent growth.

Data from the latest HMRC PAYE RTI show that:

  • NI had a median monthly pay of £2,295 in February 2025, which was a decrease of 0.1% on the previous month and an increase of 6.3% over the year.
  • UK had a median monthly pay of £2,465 in February 2025, which was a decrease of 0.4% on the previous month and an increase of 5.0% from February 2024.
  • NI had the largest annual increase of the 12 UK regions, but was the lowest earning region in the UK in February 2025. London had the highest median pay (£2,913).
  • Since March 2020, earnings in NI have increased by 31.9%, 1.7 pps less than the increase in the UK (33.6%) and the fourthlowest of all the UK regions.

3.5 Quarterly Employment Survey (QES)

Survey date 02 December 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 reach a new series high, 832,180 jobs, in December 2024.

Figure 8: Employee jobs increase to new series high.

NI index of employee jobs, December 2009 to December 2024 (Quarter 4)
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Quarter NI UK
Q4 2009 100.0 100.0
Q1 2010 99.7 99.7
Q2 2010 99.4 99.8
Q3 2010 99.1 99.7
Q4 2010 98.5 99.6
Q1 2011 98.3 99.9
Q2 2011 97.9 99.7
Q3 2011 97.9 99.9
Q4 2011 97.2 100.1
Q1 2012 97.1 100.9
Q2 2012 97.4 100.6
Q3 2012 97.7 100.3
Q4 2012 97.7 100.4
Q1 2013 97.8 101.0
Q2 2013 98.4 101.4
Q3 2013 99.2 101.8
Q4 2013 99.1 102.6
Q1 2014 99.9 103.3
Q2 2014 99.8 104.5
Q3 2014 101.4 105.0
Q4 2014 101.4 105.6
Q1 2015 101.7 106.4
Q2 2015 102.2 106.7
Q3 2015 102.8 107.2
Q4 2015 102.5 107.6
Q1 2016 102.7 108.3
Q2 2016 103.2 108.7
Q3 2016 103.5 109.0
Q4 2016 104.0 109.0
Q1 2017 104.6 109.8
Q2 2017 105.5 109.7
Q3 2017 105.6 110.2
Q4 2017 106.7 110.1
Q1 2018 107.1 110.3
Q2 2018 107.6 110.3
Q3 2018 107.7 110.9
Q4 2018 108.7 111.1
Q1 2019 108.9 111.6
Q2 2019 108.9 111.8
Q3 2019 109.3 112.3
Q4 2019 109.6 112.2
Q1 2020 109.5 112.7
Q2 2020 109.2 111.6
Q3 2020 108.3 110.2
Q4 2020 108.2 110.1
Q1 2021 108.2 110.8
Q2 2021 108.2 111.8
Q3 2021 109.3 113.0
Q4 2021 110.0 113.5
Q1 2022 112.0 114.5
Q2 2022 112.4 115.2
Q3 2022 112.7 115.5
Q4 2022 114.0 116.0
Q1 2023 114.4 116.8
Q2 2023 114.7 116.6
Q3 2023 115.5 117.1
Q4 2023 115.1 117.3
Q1 2024 115.5 117.6
Q2 2024 115.6 117.7
Q3 2024 116.7 117.7
Q4 2024 116.9 118.2


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 141,150 more employee jobs in NI since the lowest point in March 2012, and 5,113,000 more jobs in the UK since December 2010.

The seasonally adjusted employee jobs total in Northern Ireland at December 2024 was 832,180, which was:

  • an increase of 0.2% (1,700 jobs) over the quarter from the revised September 2024 estimate of 830,470; and
  • an increase of 1.6% (12,800 jobs) over the year from the revised December 2023 estimate of 819,380.
  • The change in employee jobs over both the quarter and the year was not 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 increased over the year to 26.6%.
  • The most recent UK economic inactivity rate for November-January 2025 was estimated at 21.5%.

Figure 9: NI economic inactivity consistently above UK average

Seasonally adjusted economic inactivity rates (Aged 16 to 64), Nov-Jan 2010 to Nov-Jan 2025
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Northern Ireland United Kingdom
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 22.7
Nov-Jan 2013 27.5 22.4
Feb-Apr 2013 27.2 22.6
May-Jul 2013 27.4 22.4
Aug-Oct 2013 27.5 22.3
Nov-Jan 2014 26.9 22.2
Feb-Apr 2014 27.0 22.1
May-Jul 2014 27.1 22.3
Aug-Oct 2014 27.1 22.3
Nov-Jan 2015 28.0 22.2
Feb-Apr 2015 27.2 22.2
May-Jul 2015 27.5 22.2
Aug-Oct 2015 26.9 21.9
Nov-Jan 2016 26.6 21.9
Feb-Apr 2016 25.9 21.9
May-Jul 2016 26.3 21.6
Aug-Oct 2016 25.9 21.7
Nov-Jan 2017 26.5 21.7
Feb-Apr 2017 27.2 21.6
May-Jul 2017 27.9 21.3
Aug-Oct 2017 28.7 21.6
Nov-Jan 2018 28.0 21.3
Feb-Apr 2018 27.7 21.1
May-Jul 2018 27.1 21.4
Aug-Oct 2018 27.8 21.1
Nov-Jan 2019 26.4 20.9
Feb-Apr 2019 26.2 20.9
May-Jul 2019 25.8 20.8
Aug-Oct 2019 25.8 20.9
Nov-Jan 2020 25.9 20.5
Feb-Apr 2020 27.9 21.0
May-Jul 2020 27.9 21.2
Aug-Oct 2020 27.2 21.4
Nov-Jan 2021 28.5 21.5
Feb-Apr 2021 28.3 21.7
May-Jul 2021 27.3 21.5
Aug-Oct 2021 28.7 21.6
Nov-Jan 2022 28.7 21.7
Feb-Apr 2022 28.1 21.8
May-Jul 2022 27.9 22.2
Aug-Oct 2022 26.6 21.9
Nov-Jan 2023 26.6 21.7
Feb-Apr 2023 26.3 21.4
May-Jul 2023 26.9 21.6
Aug-Oct 2023 25.9 21.9
Nov-Jan 2024 25.6 22.1
Feb-Apr 2024 25.7 22.2
May-Jul 2024 25.9 21.9
Aug-Oct 2024 26.6 21.7
Nov-Jan 2025 26.6 21.5


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 2010 at 30%, 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, whilst the UK rate has trended upwards until early 2024 with a downward trend since, the NI rate trended downwards until the start of 2024 with a general upward trend since. Over the last year, the economic inactivity rate in NI has seen an increase of 1.0pps whilst the UK rate has seen a decrease of 0.6pps. The most recent economic inactivity rates for NI (26.6%) and the UK (21.5%) were 0.7pps and 1.0pps above their pre-pandemic equivalents in November-January 2020.

The NI economic inactivity rate (aged 16 to 64) for November-January 2025 was estimated at 26.6%, which was:

  • unchanged over the quarter; and
  • an increase of 1.0pps 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:

  • up 1,000 from last quarter; and
  • up 16,000 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 22.8%; and
  • an increase of 1.4pps over the year in the female economic inactivity rate to 30.3%.

UK regional comparison:

  • The NI economic inactivity rate (aged 16 to 64) of 26.6% was 5.1pps above the most recent UK rate of 21.5%.
  • the highest of the twelve UK regions.

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

Reasons for inactivity:

  • In November-January 2025, the most common reason for economic inactivity among the working age population was ‘long-term sick’. There were 120,000 ‘long-term sick’, accounting for 38.2% of the total economically inactive (aged 16 to 64), or 10.1% of the working age population. This was an increase of 4,000 (3.2%) from the same period last year.
  • Compared to the pre-pandemic figures in November-January 2020, there has been an increase in the number of ‘long-term sick’ (by 17,000) and ‘student’ (by 12,000), however the totals for ‘family and home care’ and ‘retired’ have decreased by 16,000 and 4,000 respectively.

Inactivity by Age:

  • In November-January 2025, those aged 65 and over (300,000) made up the highest proportion (48.8%) of the total economically inactive (age 16 and over), with those aged 25 to 34 (39,000) making up the lowest proportion (6.3%) across the age groups.
  • Those aged 65 and over had the highest economic inactivity rate (88.4%), whilst those aged 35 to 49 had the lowest (14.9%). 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 October to December 2024 was 2,219, a decrease of 6.1% from the same period last year.

Table 1: LFS Response rates, October-December 2021 to October to December 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
April-June 2024 33.2 23.1
July-September 2024 30.8 24.6
October-December 2024 31.1 24.4

Please note, response rates are updated quarterly.

LFS revisions

LFS microdata are routinely revised to incorporate the latest population estimates. The latest reweighting was introduced in December 2024, affecting data from January-March 2019 to July-September 2024. An overview of the impact of reweighting on the NI estimates of unemployment, employment, and economic inactivity is available on the NISRA website. Previous reweightings occurred in October 2020, July 2021, June 2022 and February 2024.

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 November-January 2025 should be compared with the estimates for August-October 2024. This provides a more robust estimate than comparing with the estimates for October-December 2024, as the November and December 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 official statistics in development, 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 September 2024 seasonally adjusted estimate published in December 2024 has been revised to 830,470 jobs (-0.2% or -1,310 jobs). 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

Cathy White
Email:

HMRC PAYE

Brian Grogan
Email:


Web: Labour Market and Social Welfare
Twitter / X: 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.