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 April 2023 was 785,500, a decrease of 0.6% over the month and an increase of 1.5% over the year.

Employment section 3.3
Earnings from the HMRC PAYE indicated that NI employees had a median monthly pay of £2,062 in April 2023, a decrease of £56 (2.6%) over the month and an increase of £128 (6.6%) over the year.

Employment section 3.4
In April 2023, the seasonally adjusted number of people on the claimant count was 37,500 (3.9% of the workforce), an increase of 3.8% from the previous month’s revised figure. The April 2023 claimant count remains 25.6% 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 70 redundancies occurred in April 2023, taking the annual total to 1,060. There were 2,090 redundancies proposed in the twelve months to April 2023.

Unemployment section 2.3
The latest NI seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (the proportion of economically active people age 16 and over who were unemployed) for the period January-March 2023 was estimated from the Labour Force Survey at 2.5%. This was unchanged 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) increased by 0.1pps over the quarter and increased by 1.4pps over the year to 72.0%.

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) decreased by 0.1pps over the quarter and decreased by 1.4pps over the year to 26.1%.

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 28.9 million hours, an increase of 3.7% on the previous quarter and an increase of 3.0% on the equivalent period last year.

Employment section 3.2

1.2 Commentary

The latest labour market release generally shows improvements over the year, with payrolled employee numbers and earnings having both increased. The unemployment rate for January-March 2023 is 0.1pps above the pre-pandemic position, while measures of total employment (e.g. employment rate and hours worked) and economic inactivity continue to move towards parity with pre-pandemic rates. However, there has been little change over the quarter in most measures.

The latest HMRC payroll data shows that payrolled employee numbers decreased by 0.6% over the month but increased by 1.5% over the year. Payrolled earnings also decreased over the month by 2.6% but were 6.6% higher than April 2022.

Households reported, via the Labour Force Survey (LFS), a 1.4pps increase in the employment rate over the year to January-March 2023, to 72.0%, and a slight decrease of 0.1pps in the unemployment rate over the year, to 2.5%. The economic inactivity rate also decreased over the year to January-March 2023, by 1.4pps, to 26.1%. Caution is advised when interpreting these results however as none of the annual changes were statistically significant. At January-March 2023, the employment rate sat 0.4pps below the pre-pandemic position recorded in October-December 2019, while the unemployment rate and economic inactivity rates both remain above the pre-pandemic position, by 0.1pps and 0.3pps respectively.

The total number of hours worked in January-March 2023 increased by 3.0% over the year and now stand at 0.9% below the pre-pandemic position recorded in October-December 2019.

Over the month to April 2023, the claimant count estimate increased, by 3.8%, from the revised figure for March 2023 with the claimant count rate increasing to 3.9%. This is the second month in a row both the claimant count estimate and the claimant count rate have increased.

Finally, there were 70 redundancies confirmed to the Department in April 2023 which took the rolling twelve-month total to 1,060, remaining at over 1,000 for the second month in a row. There have been 2,090 proposed redundancies notified to the Department over the year May 2022 to April 2023 and, although higher than the majority of rolling twelve-month totals over the last year, this figure remains below the long term trend.

1.3 Things users need to know

Labour Market Statistics – Transformation in Northern Ireland – May 2023

NISRA aims to provide the most accurate and up-to-date statistics about the local labour market. To achieve this, a number of initiatives are being taken forward including greater use of administrative data sources such as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Pay As You Earn data and the transformation of the Labour Force Survey (LFS).

Most of our labour market statistics will continue to be obtained from surveys completed by either households or businesses. Using surveys to collect labour market statistics is an effective and proven approach that delivers trusted results. In the next two years, NISRA are working towards transforming how we deliver key labour market surveys.

The transformation of the Labour Force Survey focuses on improving the design of the LFS and quality of its outputs. It will use enhanced address registers, improved sampling, and transform to a respondent led, online first approach supported by telephone collection and “knock to nudge” processes. To account for this, the transformation has also focused on a respondent-centred design of questions.

The current interviewer led approach will be retained for the next 12 months but more details on the transformation plan will be published soon.

The goal of these initiatives is to reduce the time and effort needed to collect survey data, to improve overall response and to provide more accurate and relevant statistics.

LFS Occupational data

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has identified an issue with the collection of some occupational data in a number of surveys, including the Labour Force Survey (LFS). While we estimate any impacts will be small overall, this would affect the accuracy of the breakdowns in quarterly tables 2.18, 2.29 and 2.39. A decision has therefore been taken to suspend publication of these tables until this issue has been resolved. ONS are aiming to recode the occupations for January 2021 onwards over the coming months, and these will be available later in 2023. Further details, including a list of the impacts to SOC codes, can be found on the ONS website.

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 January-March 2023 was unchanged over the quarter and decreased over the year to 2.5%.
  • The UK unemployment rate was estimated at 3.9%.

Figure 1: NI unemployment rate remains below UK rate

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (Age 16 and over), Jan-Mar 2008 to Jan-Mar 2023
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Northern Ireland United Kingdom
Jan-Mar 2008 4.5 5.2
Apr-Jun 2008 3.9 5.4
Jul-Sep 2008 4.1 5.9
Oct-Dec 2008 5.2 6.4
Jan-Mar 2009 6.2 7.1
Apr-Jun 2009 6.5 7.8
Jul-Sep 2009 7.0 7.8
Oct-Dec 2009 5.9 7.8
Jan-Mar 2010 6.9 8.0
Apr-Jun 2010 6.6 7.9
Jul-Sep 2010 6.9 7.8
Oct-Dec 2010 7.9 7.9
Jan-Mar 2011 7.3 7.8
Apr-Jun 2011 7.3 7.9
Jul-Sep 2011 7.3 8.3
Oct-Dec 2011 7.0 8.4
Jan-Mar 2012 6.7 8.2
Apr-Jun 2012 7.7 8.0
Jul-Sep 2012 7.7 7.9
Oct-Dec 2012 7.6 7.8
Jan-Mar 2013 8.0 7.8
Apr-Jun 2013 7.3 7.7
Jul-Sep 2013 7.4 7.6
Oct-Dec 2013 7.3 7.2
Jan-Mar 2014 7.1 6.8
Apr-Jun 2014 6.5 6.3
Jul-Sep 2014 6.2 6.0
Oct-Dec 2014 5.8 5.7
Jan-Mar 2015 6.2 5.5
Apr-Jun 2015 6.3 5.6
Jul-Sep 2015 6.0 5.3
Oct-Dec 2015 5.9 5.1
Jan-Mar 2016 6.1 5.1
Apr-Jun 2016 5.8 4.9
Jul-Sep 2016 5.6 4.8
Oct-Dec 2016 5.4 4.7
Jan-Mar 2017 5.3 4.6
Apr-Jun 2017 5.1 4.4
Jul-Sep 2017 4.0 4.3
Oct-Dec 2017 4.1 4.4
Jan-Mar 2018 3.0 4.2
Apr-Jun 2018 3.7 4.0
Jul-Sep 2018 3.8 4.1
Oct-Dec 2018 3.8 4.0
Jan-Mar 2019 2.9 3.8
Apr-Jun 2019 3.1 3.9
Jul-Sep 2019 2.5 3.8
Oct-Dec 2019 2.4 3.8
Jan-Mar 2020 2.5 4.0
Apr-Jun 2020 2.8 4.1
Jul-Sep 2020 3.4 4.9
Oct-Dec 2020 3.8 5.2
Jan-Mar 2021 4.2 4.9
Apr-Jun 2021 4.3 4.7
Jul-Sep 2021 4.3 4.3
Oct-Dec 2021 3.2 4.0
Jan-Mar 2022 2.6 3.7
Apr-Jun 2022 2.7 3.8
Jul-Sep 2022 3.0 3.6
Oct-Dec 2022 2.5 3.7
Jan-Mar 2023 2.5 3.9


Figure 1 shows 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 8.0% in early 2013. Following these peaks, both unemployment rates showed a downward trend until the end of 2019, when a low point was recorded for NI at 2.4%. The UK recorded a low point of 3.6% in July-September 2022. Over the most recent year to January-March 2023 the NI unemployment rate decreased by 0.1pps to 2.5% while the UK unemployment rate increased by 0.2pps to 3.9%.

The NI unemployment rate (age 16 and over) for the period January-March 2023 was estimated at 2.5%. This was:

  • unchanged over the quarter; 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 22,000, which was:

  • unchanged from last quarter; and
  • unchanged from the same period last year.

UK regional comparison:

  • The NI unemployment rate (age 16 and over) of 2.5% was 1.4pps below the overall UK rate of 3.9%; and
  • the joint-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 April 2023, the NI claimant count increased by 3.8% to 37,500.
  • In April 2023, 3.9% of the NI workforce were recorded on the claimant count.

Figure 2: The seasonally adjusted claimant count rate remains higher than the pre-pandemic rate

NI seasonally adjusted claimant count (experimental) monthly rates, April 2008 to April 2023
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Undercount Rate
Apr 2008 2.7
May 2008 2.8
Jun 2008 2.9
Jul 2008 3.0
Aug 2008 3.1
Sep 2008 3.3
Oct 2008 3.5
Nov 2008 3.9
Dec 2008 4.1
Jan 2009 4.3
Feb 2009 4.7
Mar 2009 5.0
Apr 2009 5.2
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 6.0
May 2021 5.7
Jun 2021 5.4
Jul 2021 5.3
Aug 2021 5.1
Sep 2021 5.0
Oct 2021 4.9
Nov 2021 4.6
Dec 2021 4.4
Jan 2022 4.1
Feb 2022 4.0
Mar 2022 3.9
Apr 2022 3.8
May 2022 3.7
Jun 2022 3.7
Jul 2022 3.7
Aug 2022 3.6
Sep 2022 3.7
Oct 2022 3.7
Nov 2022 3.7
Dec 2022 3.7
Jan 2023 3.7
Feb 2023 3.6
Mar 2023 3.7
Apr 2023 3.9


In April 2023, 37,500 people were recorded on the NI Claimant Count. This is 41.5% less than the recent peak in May 2020 and 25.6% 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 increase in the NI Claimant Count of 3.8% seen in April 2023 was the largest monthly increase since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in spring 2020, and the Claimant Count rate of 3.9% seen in April 2023 is the highest rate since March 2022.

The NI seasonally adjusted claimant count was 37,500 (3.9% of the workforce) in April 2023, representing:

  • a increase of 1,400 (3.8%) over the month
  • an increase of 1.6% in males and an increase of 7.1% in females over the month
  • a increase of 1,000 (2.7%) over the year, and
  • an increase of 7,700 (25.6%) since March 2020.

UK regional comparison:

  • The UK seasonally adjusted claimant count increased by 3.1% over the month to 1,572,400 (4.0% of the workforce).
  • The UK count is 41.7% below the recent peak in August 2020 and 27.8% 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

  • 70 redundancies were confirmed in April 2023, taking the annual total to 1,060, which was 41.5% less than the previous year (1,810).
  • In the latest 12-month period, there were 2,090 proposed redundancies, which was 5.1% less than the previous year (2,210).

Confirmed redundancies

During April 2023, the Department was notified of:

  • 70 confirmed redundancies, slightly higher than the monthly average (60) during 2022.

Over the latest twelve month period there were:

  • 1,060 confirmed redundancies, which was 41.5% less than the previous year (1,810).
  • 240 confirmed redundancies (22.9%) in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles sector.
  • 210 confirmed redundancies (19.8%) in the manufacturing sector.
  • 170 confirmed redundancies (15.8%) in the transportation and storage sector.

Proposed redundancies

In line with the statistical disclosure control policy to prevent identification of individual businesses, redundancy totals relating to fewer than 3 businesses are not disclosed. As such, the number of proposed redundancies for the month of April cannot be disclosed.

Over the last twelve months, to the end of April 2023, there were:

  • 2,090 proposed redundancies, which was 5.1% less than the previous year (2,210).
  • 540 proposed redundancies (25.7%) in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles sector.
  • 470 proposed redundancies (22.4%) in the education sector.
  • 360 proposed redundancies (17.1%) in the transportation and storage 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 January-March 2023 increased over both the quarter and year to 72.0%.
  • The UK employment rate was estimated at 75.9%.

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

Seasonally adjusted employment rate (Aged 16 to 64), Jan-Mar 2008 to Jan-Mar 2023
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Northern Ireland United Kingdom
Jan-Mar 2008 68.2 73.0
Apr-Jun 2008 68.7 72.9
Jul-Sep 2008 68.1 72.4
Oct-Dec 2008 66.8 72.2
Jan-Mar 2009 64.8 71.7
Apr-Jun 2009 64.0 70.8
Jul-Sep 2009 64.5 70.6
Oct-Dec 2009 65.6 70.6
Jan-Mar 2010 65.9 70.2
Apr-Jun 2010 66.3 70.4
Jul-Sep 2010 66.2 70.7
Oct-Dec 2010 65.9 70.4
Jan-Mar 2011 66.9 70.5
Apr-Jun 2011 67.7 70.5
Jul-Sep 2011 67.3 70.1
Oct-Dec 2011 67.6 70.2
Jan-Mar 2012 67.4 70.5
Apr-Jun 2012 67.0 70.9
Jul-Sep 2012 67.3 71.1
Oct-Dec 2012 67.1 71.4
Jan-Mar 2013 66.4 71.2
Apr-Jun 2013 66.3 71.3
Jul-Sep 2013 67.0 71.7
Oct-Dec 2013 67.6 72.0
Jan-Mar 2014 67.7 72.5
Apr-Jun 2014 68.3 72.8
Jul-Sep 2014 68.4 73.0
Oct-Dec 2014 67.7 73.2
Jan-Mar 2015 68.2 73.4
Apr-Jun 2015 67.8 73.4
Jul-Sep 2015 67.9 73.8
Oct-Dec 2015 68.7 74.1
Jan-Mar 2016 69.2 74.1
Apr-Jun 2016 69.2 74.4
Jul-Sep 2016 70.1 74.4
Oct-Dec 2016 69.8 74.6
Jan-Mar 2017 68.4 74.8
Apr-Jun 2017 69.4 75.1
Jul-Sep 2017 68.3 75.0
Oct-Dec 2017 68.6 75.2
Jan-Mar 2018 69.8 75.6
Apr-Jun 2018 69.6 75.5
Jul-Sep 2018 69.4 75.6
Oct-Dec 2018 70.3 75.8
Jan-Mar 2019 71.3 76.1
Apr-Jun 2019 72.2 76.1
Jul-Sep 2019 72.3 76.0
Oct-Dec 2019 72.4 76.5
Jan-Mar 2020 71.8 76.3
Apr-Jun 2020 69.9 75.7
Jul-Sep 2020 69.9 74.9
Oct-Dec 2020 68.2 74.6
Jan-Mar 2021 67.9 74.7
Apr-Jun 2021 68.7 75.0
Jul-Sep 2021 68.1 75.3
Oct-Dec 2021 68.8 75.5
Jan-Mar 2022 70.6 75.6
Apr-Jun 2022 69.7 75.5
Jul-Sep 2022 70.1 75.5
Oct-Dec 2022 71.9 75.6
Jan-Mar 2023 72.0 75.9


Figure 4 shows that, over the last 15 years, the NI employment rate has been consistently below the UK rate. Although showing a similar trend, the fall in the employment rate in NI between 2008 and 2009 (by almost 5pps) was steeper than the fall in the UK rate. Similarly, the fall between 2019 and 2021 was steeper for NI than the UK as a whole, following peak rates recorded for both towards the end of 2019. The NI employment rate remains 0.4pps below the pre-pandemic rate of 72.4% recorded in October-December 2019. Similarly, the UK rate is 0.6pps below the rate of 76.5% recorded in October-December 2019.

The most recent NI employment rate (aged 16 to 64) for the period January-March 2023 was estimated at 72.0%. This was:

  • an increase of 0.1pps over the quarter (not statistically significant); and
  • an increase of 1.4pps over the year (not statistically significant);

The number of employed people (age 16 and over) in NI was estimated at 876,000, which was:

  • up 4,000 from last quarter; and
  • up 24,000 from the same period last year.

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

  • the male employment rate (75.6%) increased by 1.2pps over the year; and
  • the female employment rate (68.5%) increased by 1.7pps over the year.

UK regional comparison:

  • The NI employment rate (aged 16 to 64) of 72.0% was 3.9pps below the overall UK rate of 75.9%; and
  • the second-lowest of the twelve UK regions.

3.2 Total weekly hours

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

Key findings

  • The total number of weekly hours worked in January-March 2023 was estimated at 28.9 million hours per week.
  • This was an increase of 3.7% on the previous quarter and an increase of 3.0% on the same period last year.

Figure 5: Hours worked continues to increase from levels seen during the pandemic

Total weekly hours worked (Age 16 and over), Jan-Mar 2008 to Jan-Mar 2023
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Total weekly hours
Jan-Mar 2008 26.1
Apr-Jun 2008 27.7
Jul-Sep 2008 26.5
Oct-Dec 2008 26.1
Jan-Mar 2009 25.7
Apr-Jun 2009 25.8
Jul-Sep 2009 24.3
Oct-Dec 2009 25.4
Jan-Mar 2010 25.8
Apr-Jun 2010 26.2
Jul-Sep 2010 24.5
Oct-Dec 2010 24.7
Jan-Mar 2011 26.7
Apr-Jun 2011 26.6
Jul-Sep 2011 25.3
Oct-Dec 2011 25.3
Jan-Mar 2012 26.5
Apr-Jun 2012 26.4
Jul-Sep 2012 26.1
Oct-Dec 2012 26.2
Jan-Mar 2013 26.6
Apr-Jun 2013 26.7
Jul-Sep 2013 26.5
Oct-Dec 2013 26.4
Jan-Mar 2014 27.2
Apr-Jun 2014 27.6
Jul-Sep 2014 27.2
Oct-Dec 2014 27.1
Jan-Mar 2015 27.8
Apr-Jun 2015 27.1
Jul-Sep 2015 26.1
Oct-Dec 2015 25.9
Jan-Mar 2016 27.5
Apr-Jun 2016 28.4
Jul-Sep 2016 26.5
Oct-Dec 2016 27.5
Jan-Mar 2017 28.0
Apr-Jun 2017 28.0
Jul-Sep 2017 26.7
Oct-Dec 2017 27.6
Jan-Mar 2018 28.3
Apr-Jun 2018 28.8
Jul-Sep 2018 27.6
Oct-Dec 2018 28.3
Jan-Mar 2019 29.3
Apr-Jun 2019 29.6
Jul-Sep 2019 28.9
Oct-Dec 2019 29.1
Jan-Mar 2020 28.5
Apr-Jun 2020 22.9
Jul-Sep 2020 25.4
Oct-Dec 2020 24.6
Jan-Mar 2021 25.1
Apr-Jun 2021 26.6
Jul-Sep 2021 26.1
Oct-Dec 2021 26.3
Jan-Mar 2022 28.0
Apr-Jun 2022 27.8
Jul-Sep 2022 26.5
Oct-Dec 2022 27.9
Jan-Mar 2023 28.9


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 January-March 2020 and April-June 2020. Following this point, whilst there has been a general increasing trend, hours worked has not recovered to the peak levels seen in 2019. Hours worked in January-March 2023 were 2.5% below the peak of 29.6 million hours in April-June 2019.

The total number of weekly hours worked in NI in January-March 2023 was estimated at 28.9 million hours, this was:

  • an increase of 1.0 million hours (3.7%) on the previous quarter;
  • an increase of 0.9 million hours (3.0%) from the same period last year (not statistically significant); and
  • 0.3 million hours, or 0.9%, below the pre-pandemic (October-December 2019) figure.

3.3 Employees (experimental) from HMRC PAYE RTI

Payrolled employee counts (experimental) from the HMRC’s Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) system relate to employees paid by employers only, and do not include those who are self-employed. Data are based on where employees live and not the location of their place of work within the UK. As employees who were “furloughed” as part of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme programme should still have had their payments reported through this system, they should feature in these data.

Key findings

  • The number of payrolled employees in NI decreased by 0.6% over the month and increased by 1.5% over the year to April 2023.
  • In the UK, the number of payrolled employees decreased by 0.5% over the month and increased by 1.0% over the year to April 2023.

Figure 6: Number of payrolled employees decreased over the month

NI payrolled employees (experimental) from PAYE RTI, July 2014 to April 2023
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Northern Ireland
Jul 2014 673,570
Aug 2014 674,801
Sep 2014 676,157
Oct 2014 677,589
Nov 2014 679,083
Dec 2014 678,829
Jan 2015 683,690
Feb 2015 685,488
Mar 2015 687,192
Apr 2015 690,392
May 2015 691,247
Jun 2015 693,508
Jul 2015 695,011
Aug 2015 696,080
Sep 2015 698,140
Oct 2015 698,719
Nov 2015 699,327
Dec 2015 699,153
Jan 2016 700,786
Feb 2016 701,196
Mar 2016 702,470
Apr 2016 702,361
May 2016 703,078
Jun 2016 703,224
Jul 2016 703,822
Aug 2016 705,606
Sep 2016 707,221
Oct 2016 708,445
Nov 2016 710,750
Dec 2016 712,080
Jan 2017 710,962
Feb 2017 712,652
Mar 2017 714,058
Apr 2017 715,272
May 2017 716,657
Jun 2017 718,018
Jul 2017 718,688
Aug 2017 720,330
Sep 2017 721,736
Oct 2017 723,280
Nov 2017 724,271
Dec 2017 727,935
Jan 2018 727,504
Feb 2018 728,929
Mar 2018 729,752
Apr 2018 731,176
May 2018 732,006
Jun 2018 732,980
Jul 2018 733,813
Aug 2018 735,256
Sep 2018 736,370
Oct 2018 738,702
Nov 2018 739,590
Dec 2018 740,495
Jan 2019 741,844
Feb 2019 743,020
Mar 2019 744,960
Apr 2019 745,710
May 2019 745,663
Jun 2019 744,998
Jul 2019 746,899
Aug 2019 747,245
Sep 2019 747,798
Oct 2019 748,119
Nov 2019 749,659
Dec 2019 749,071
Jan 2020 751,014
Feb 2020 752,382
Mar 2020 753,196
Apr 2020 741,986
May 2020 740,564
Jun 2020 740,143
Jul 2020 741,543
Aug 2020 737,509
Sep 2020 738,082
Oct 2020 737,525
Nov 2020 736,196
Dec 2020 736,231
Jan 2021 737,616
Feb 2021 738,008
Mar 2021 740,240
Apr 2021 742,480
May 2021 748,536
Jun 2021 755,989
Jul 2021 761,576
Aug 2021 761,652
Sep 2021 762,333
Oct 2021 763,252
Nov 2021 765,716
Dec 2021 767,970
Jan 2022 769,325
Feb 2022 770,285
Mar 2022 773,019
Apr 2022 774,256
May 2022 775,382
Jun 2022 775,784
Jul 2022 777,243
Aug 2022 780,399
Sep 2022 780,117
Oct 2022 781,494
Nov 2022 783,023
Dec 2022 784,821
Jan 2023 784,042
Feb 2023 785,730
Mar 2023 790,486
Apr 2023 785,513


Between 2014 and 2020 the number of payrolled employees had generally been increasing each month. Prior to COVID, payrolled employees peaked at around 753,000 in March 2020. This was followed by a sharp decrease of about 11,000 employees (1.5%) to April 2020. Employee numbers then remained at a similar level until April 2021.

Since April 2021, the trend in the number of payrolled employees has generally been upward. More recently, an increase of 0.6% was recorded in March 2023, followed by a decrease of 0.6% over the month to April 2023. Although this was the largest decrease since April 2020, employee numbers have returned to the same level as February 2023, and the April 2023 count remained 1.5% above the count one year earlier.

Data from the latest HMRC PAYE RTI show that:

  • 785,500 people were payrolled employees in April 2023, a 0.6% decrease from the previous month and a 1.5% increase over the year.
  • in the UK, there were 29,845,200 payrolled employees in April 2023, a decrease of 0.5% over the month and an increase of 1.0% over the year.
  • all regions of the UK increased over the year to April 2023, where changes ranged from an increase of 0.5% in Yorkshire and The Humber to an increase of 1.5% in Northern Ireland. The increase in Northern Ireland was higher than the increase recorded for the UK as a whole (1.0%).
  • between March 2020 and April 2023, all regions of the UK recorded an increase in payrolled employees (an increase of 2.9% overall). Northern Ireland recorded the largest increase (4.3%) while Scotland recorded the lowest (2.1%).

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 2.6% (£56) over the month to £2,062 in April 2023 and increased by 6.6% (£128) over the year.
  • UK median monthly pay increased by 0.7% (£16) over the month to £2,233 in April 2023 and increased by 7.4% (£153) over the year.

Figure 7: Median monthly pay decreased over the month in both NI but increased in UK

Median Monthly Pay (experimental) from PAYE RTI, July 2014 to April 2023
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Northern Ireland UK
Jul 2014 1490 1598
Aug 2014 1488 1601
Sep 2014 1488 1601
Oct 2014 1494 1605
Nov 2014 1498 1608
Dec 2014 1514 1617
Jan 2015 1500 1620
Feb 2015 1494 1620
Mar 2015 1500 1618
Apr 2015 1499 1614
May 2015 1498 1615
Jun 2015 1491 1616
Jul 2015 1492 1620
Aug 2015 1488 1616
Sep 2015 1494 1618
Oct 2015 1496 1626
Nov 2015 1493 1630
Dec 2015 1497 1631
Jan 2016 1502 1638
Feb 2016 1508 1640
Mar 2016 1516 1646
Apr 2016 1516 1652
May 2016 1514 1652
Jun 2016 1517 1654
Jul 2016 1519 1659
Aug 2016 1526 1659
Sep 2016 1527 1664
Oct 2016 1523 1663
Nov 2016 1529 1666
Dec 2016 1528 1668
Jan 2017 1533 1668
Feb 2017 1535 1677
Mar 2017 1546 1686
Apr 2017 1541 1689
May 2017 1544 1691
Jun 2017 1556 1694
Jul 2017 1554 1693
Aug 2017 1560 1699
Sep 2017 1562 1704
Oct 2017 1564 1706
Nov 2017 1571 1713
Dec 2017 1576 1721
Jan 2018 1569 1723
Feb 2018 1589 1727
Mar 2018 1585 1730
Apr 2018 1591 1730
May 2018 1603 1750
Jun 2018 1612 1756
Jul 2018 1611 1751
Aug 2018 1618 1771
Sep 2018 1619 1761
Oct 2018 1629 1767
Nov 2018 1634 1778
Dec 2018 1632 1772
Jan 2019 1645 1781
Feb 2019 1688 1791
Mar 2019 1660 1801
Apr 2019 1668 1810
May 2019 1680 1818
Jun 2019 1677 1813
Jul 2019 1680 1820
Aug 2019 1681 1824
Sep 2019 1684 1819
Oct 2019 1691 1824
Nov 2019 1688 1830
Dec 2019 1671 1835
Jan 2020 1701 1849
Feb 2020 1710 1860
Mar 2020 1743 1846
Apr 2020 1656 1793
May 2020 1664 1801
Jun 2020 1716 1830
Jul 2020 1741 1860
Aug 2020 1746 1880
Sep 2020 1765 1897
Oct 2020 1775 1910
Nov 2020 1779 1914
Dec 2020 1782 1924
Jan 2021 1782 1926
Feb 2021 1791 1941
Mar 2021 1797 1949
Apr 2021 1814 1965
May 2021 1807 1968
Jun 2021 1835 1977
Jul 2021 1877 1980
Aug 2021 1820 1986
Sep 2021 1846 2002
Oct 2021 1854 2008
Nov 2021 1859 2019
Dec 2021 1902 2033
Jan 2022 1935 2046
Feb 2022 1915 2052
Mar 2022 1932 2076
Apr 2022 1934 2080
May 2022 1943 2093
Jun 2022 1956 2106
Jul 2022 1955 2110
Aug 2022 1972 2119
Sep 2022 1961 2140
Oct 2022 1977 2145
Nov 2022 2015 2195
Dec 2022 2010 2187
Jan 2023 2037 2192
Feb 2023 2053 2206
Mar 2023 2118 2217
Apr 2023 2062 2233


Median employee pay in NI and the UK increased overall between mid-2015 and early 2020. In NI, a sharp increase of 1.9% in median pay was recorded between February and March 2020, followed by a decrease of 5.0% between March and April 2020. The UK also saw a decrease between March and April 2020 of 2.8%. These monthly decreases coincided with decreases in the number of paid employees recorded in April 2020.

From April 2020, median employee pay has shown an upward trend, however in recent months some volatility has been seen in the NI results. An increase of 3.2% was recorded in March 2023 and was followed by a decrease of 2.6% to April 2023. This was driven by a backdated local pay award paid in March 2023, which caused a significantly large increase (29%) in March 2023 and significantly large decrease (23%) in April 2023 in the Health and social work sector. The latest earnings (£2,062) are 18.3% higher than the pre-pandemic level in March 2020 (£1,743).

Data from the latest HMRC PAYE RTI show that:

  • NI had a median monthly pay of £2,062 in April 2023, which was a decrease of 2.6% on the previous month and an increase of 6.6% from April 2022.
  • UK had a median monthly pay of £2,233 in April 2023, which was an increase of 0.7% on the previous month and an increase of 7.4% from April 2022.
  • NI had the second lowest annual increase of the 12 UK regions, and now has the lowest median monthly pay in the UK. London had the highest median pay (£2,673).
  • Since March 2020, earnings in NI have increased by 18.3%, 2.7pps lower than the increase in the UK (21.0%) and lowest of all the UK regions.


4. Economic inactivity

4.1 LFS Economic inactivity

Economically inactive: People not in employment who have not been seeking work within the last 4 weeks and/or are unable to start work within the next 2 weeks.

Key findings

  • The economic inactivity rate decreased over both the quarter and the year to 26.1%.
  • The UK economic inactivity rate was estimated at 21.0%.

Figure 8: NI economic inactivity consistently above UK average

Seasonally adjusted economic inactivity rates (Aged 16 to 64), Jan-Mar 2008 to Jan-Mar 2023
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Northern Ireland United Kingdom
Jan-Mar 2008 28.5 23.0
Apr-Jun 2008 28.5 22.9
Jul-Sep 2008 28.9 23.0
Oct-Dec 2008 29.5 22.9
Jan-Mar 2009 30.8 22.8
Apr-Jun 2009 31.5 23.1
Jul-Sep 2009 30.6 23.3
Oct-Dec 2009 30.1 23.4
Jan-Mar 2010 29.2 23.6
Apr-Jun 2010 28.9 23.5
Jul-Sep 2010 28.8 23.2
Oct-Dec 2010 28.3 23.5
Jan-Mar 2011 27.8 23.4
Apr-Jun 2011 26.8 23.3
Jul-Sep 2011 27.3 23.4
Oct-Dec 2011 27.2 23.2
Jan-Mar 2012 27.6 23.1
Apr-Jun 2012 27.3 22.8
Jul-Sep 2012 27.0 22.7
Oct-Dec 2012 27.2 22.4
Jan-Mar 2013 27.7 22.6
Apr-Jun 2013 28.3 22.5
Jul-Sep 2013 27.5 22.3
Oct-Dec 2013 27.0 22.3
Jan-Mar 2014 27.0 22.2
Apr-Jun 2014 26.8 22.2
Jul-Sep 2014 27.0 22.2
Oct-Dec 2014 28.0 22.3
Jan-Mar 2015 27.1 22.1
Apr-Jun 2015 27.4 22.1
Jul-Sep 2015 27.6 22.0
Oct-Dec 2015 26.9 21.8
Jan-Mar 2016 26.1 21.8
Apr-Jun 2016 26.4 21.6
Jul-Sep 2016 25.6 21.7
Oct-Dec 2016 26.1 21.6
Jan-Mar 2017 27.6 21.6
Apr-Jun 2017 26.8 21.3
Jul-Sep 2017 28.8 21.6
Oct-Dec 2017 28.4 21.3
Jan-Mar 2018 27.9 21.1
Apr-Jun 2018 27.6 21.2
Jul-Sep 2018 27.7 21.1
Oct-Dec 2018 26.8 20.9
Jan-Mar 2019 26.5 20.8
Apr-Jun 2019 25.5 20.7
Jul-Sep 2019 25.8 20.8
Oct-Dec 2019 25.8 20.5
Jan-Mar 2020 26.4 20.4
Apr-Jun 2020 28.0 21.0
Jul-Sep 2020 27.5 21.1
Oct-Dec 2020 29.0 21.2
Jan-Mar 2021 29.2 21.4
Apr-Jun 2021 28.1 21.2
Jul-Sep 2021 28.7 21.2
Oct-Dec 2021 28.9 21.3
Jan-Mar 2022 27.5 21.4
Apr-Jun 2022 28.3 21.4
Jul-Sep 2022 27.7 21.6
Oct-Dec 2022 26.3 21.4
Jan-Mar 2023 26.1 21.0


Figure 8 shows that, over the last 15 years, economic inactivity in NI has been consistently higher than the UK average. Economic inactivity in NI peaked during this time-period in 2009 at 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, albeit the rate for NI has shown more variability than the UK. From the onset of the COVID pandemic, both UK and NI economic inactivity rates increased, again the rate for NI has shown more variability than the UK. Although both NI and UK rates remain higher than the pre-pandemic period (October-December 2019), by 0.3pps and 0.5pps respectively, NI has seen a decrease of 1.4pps over the year whilst the UK rate has seen a smaller decrease of 0.4pps over the year.

The economic inactivity rate (aged 16 to 64) for January-March 2023 was estimated at 26.1%, which was:

  • a decrease of 0.1pps over the quarter (not statistically significant);
  • a decrease of 1.4pps over the year (not statistically significant).

The number of economically inactive people (age 16 and over) in NI was estimated at 587,000, which was:

  • down 4,000 from last quarter; and
  • down 19,000 from the same period last year.

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

  • the male economic inactivity rate (21.8%) decreased by 1.2pps over the year; and
  • the female economic inactivity rate (30.4%) decreased by 1.5pps over the year.

UK regional comparison:

  • The NI economic inactivity rate (aged 16 to 64) of 26.1% was 5.1pps above the overall UK rate of 21.0%; and
  • the highest of the twelve UK regions.


5. Further Information

General Information

The Labour Market Report is a monthly overview of key labour market statistics for NI. It includes figures from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), 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.

New Labour Market Report (LMR) format

The September 2022 LMR publication marked the first release in HTML format, produced using reproducible analytical pipelines (RAP). The content and format of the report and monthly tables changed to make them more user friendly and interactive, enhancing accessibility, and increasing automation in their production. As the tables changed, a mapping document was created showing the relationship between the old and new tables.

In addition, the LMR, data tables and supplementary documents are now available on one webpage. Individual data source pages contain links directing users to the most recent data on the LMR publication page.

We welcome feedback from users on the Labour Market Report (see Contacts).

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 total eligible sample for the January-March 2023 LFS consisted of 3,865 addresses (1,185 chosen at random from the Land and Property Services (LPS) list of domestic properties and 2,680 carried forward from the previous quarter). A random start, fixed interval sampling technique of the addresses, which are ordered by Council Area and Ward, is used. This ensures a proportional representation across the Council Areas in Northern Ireland. Only private household addresses were eligible and every selected address is interviewed on five successive occasions over five quarters. This means there is an 80% sample overlap between quarters. The achieved sample size has now returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Table 1 is updated on a quarterly basis – additional information can be found in the supplementary document.

Table 1: Response rates, January-March 2023

Statistic Figure
Fully and partially responding 2,640
Eligible sample 3,865
Response rate (%) 68.3%

LFS revisions

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

In June 2022, the LFS estimates were reweighted from January-March 2020 to January-March 2022 using updated PAYE Real-Time Information data and with the introduction of the non-response bias adjustment to NI data. An overview of the impact of reweighting on the NI estimates of unemployment, employment, and economic inactivity is available on the NISRA website. This webpage also contains the detail on two previous LFS reweightings since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in October 2020 and July 2021.

LFS comparisons

Estimates of employment, unemployment, and economic inactivity are derived from the LFS. The most robust estimates of short-term movements in these estimates are obtained by comparing the estimates over separate three-month periods, commonly known as 3 month rolling averages. For example, estimates relating to January-March 2023 should be compared with the estimates for October-December 2022. This provides a more robust estimate than comparing with the estimates for December-February 2023, as the January and February 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

The measure is categorised as experimental as the statistics are in the testing phase and not yet fully developed. ONS have produced a useful Guide to Experimental Statistics, and an FAQ document explaining the difference between the previous measure and this experimental measure is available on the changes to the claimant count page.

Claimant count revisions

Seasonally adjusted estimates are revised on a regular basis. Each month the previous estimate is revised in line with the current seasonal adjustment model, giving the best estimate of change for the latest period.

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.


The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency wishes to thank the participating households 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:

HMRC PAYE

Ashleigh Warwick
Email:


Web: Labour Market and Social Welfare
Twitter: NISRA

National Statistics logo

7. National Statistics Status

National Statistics status means that our statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality, and public value, and it is our responsibility to maintain compliance with these standards.

These statistics were designated as National Statistics in August 2010 following a full assessment of Labour Market Statistics for Northern Ireland against the Code of Practice for statistics. A compliance check in March 2020 recommended the continued designation of the report as a National Statistic. These statistics were considered as part of a wider assessment of the UK employment and jobs statistics.

Since the assessment by the UK Statistics Authority, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the following improvements:

  • New HTML Labour Market Report and monthly tables, produced using reproducible analytical pipelines (RAP) to enhance usability and accessibility (in line with regulations) and increase automation of production;
  • Providing more context to results by setting recent changes within context of longer term trends;
  • Removed pre-release access to enhance trustworthiness, and brought forward the publication date as a result;
  • Improved timeliness of quarterly labour force survey tables (ranging from 1 week to 3 months) by incorporating quarterly tables in the main Labour Market Report Publication;
  • Improved quality of the LFS data by boosting the sample size and improving precision around headline estimates (Please note, sample sizes decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to difficulty of collecting survey information from households, but have since returned to pre-pandemic levels);
  • Reviewed and updated quality protocols for release for LFS data;
  • Improved accessibility of labour market statistics by changing the release dates of statistics to avoid public holidays;
  • Included additional administrative sources of labour market data to provide a fuller picture of the labour market;
  • Changed the timing of release in line with change in ONS release practices in response to COVID-19 where the exemption has now been transferred to an alternative release time of 7am as agreed by the OSR.