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 August 2024 was 805,600, a decrease of 0.1% over the month and an increase of 1.8% over the year.

Employment section 3.3
Earnings from HMRC PAYE indicated that NI employees had a median monthly pay of £2,328 in August 2024, an increase of £78 (3.5%) over the month and an increase of £237 (11.3%) over the year.

Employment section 3.4
In August 2024, the seasonally adjusted number of people on the claimant count was 41,600 (4.2% of the workforce), an increase of 2.7% from the previous month’s revised figure. The August 2024 claimant count remains 39.3% higher than the pre-pandemic count in March 2020.

Unemployment section 2.2
NISRA, acting on behalf of the Department for the Economy, received confirmation that 110 redundancies occurred in August 2024, taking the annual total to 2,550. There were 2,760 redundancies proposed in the twelve months to August 2024.

Unemployment section 2.3
Businesses reported that employee jobs increased over the quarter (0.2%) and increased over the year (1.2%) to 826,130 jobs in June 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 May-July 2024 was estimated from the Labour Force Survey at 2.0%. This was a decrease of 0.2 percentage points (pps) over the quarter and a decrease of 0.6pps 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) decreased by 0.2pps over the quarter and increased by 1.2pps over the year to 71.1%.

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) increased by 0.4pps over the quarter and decreased by 0.8pps over the year to 27.5%.

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 28.4 million hours, an increase of 0.5% on the previous quarter and an increase of 3.6% on the equivalent period last year.

Employment section 3.2

1.2 Commentary

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

The latest HMRC payroll data shows that payrolled employees decreased by 0.1% over the month and increased by 1.8% over the year. Payrolled earnings increased by 3.5% over the month and were 11.3% higher than August 2023.

Households reported, via the Labour Force Survey (LFS), over the year to May-July 2024, a 1.2pps increase in the employment rate (to 71.1%), a decrease of 0.8pps in the economic inactivity rate (to 27.5%) and a decrease of 0.6pps in the unemployment rate (to 2.0%). None of these annual changes were statistically significant.

The total number of hours worked in May-July 2024 increased by 3.6% over the year, to 28.4 million hours per week. This is 1.6% below the pre-pandemic position recorded in November-January 2020.

Businesses reported, via the Quarterly Employment Survey, that employee jobs in NI increased over the quarter and the year to reach a new series high, 826,130 jobs, in June 2024. Quarterly increases in employee jobs were seen within the construction, services, and other industry sectors. Employee jobs remained stable over the quarter within the manufacturing sector. There were increases in employee jobs over the year within the construction, services and other industries sectors to June 2024. Employee jobs in the manufacturing sector decreased over the year.

There was an increase of 2.7% in the claimant count estimate over the month to August 2024, from the revised figure for July 2024. The claimant count rate for August 2024 was 4.2%, an increase from the revised rate for July 2024 (4.1%). These increases are largely due to the increase in the administrative earnings threshold for Universal Credit in May 2024.

Finally, in August 2024, the Department was notified of 110 confirmed redundancies, bringing the rolling twelve-month total of confirmed redundancies to 2,550, two-thirds higher than the figure for the previous year (1,530). Although the rolling twelve-month total of confirmed redundancies is substantially higher than that of the previous year, it is similar to the levels seen in the decade preceding the pandemic. Over the year, there were 2,760 proposed redundancies reported to the Department, around seventy percent of the figure for the previous year (4,000), and below the trend seen immediately before the pandemic.

1.3 Things users need to know

Labour Market Statistics – Transformation in Northern Ireland

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

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

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

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

1.4 Context

The Labour Market Report is a monthly overview of key labour market statistics for NI.

The Use of Economic and Labour Market Business and Household Surveys page provides recent examples of how data collected from the Labour Force Survey is used to inform, develop and monitor evidence-based policies. A Labour Market Outputs consultation in summer 2019 (Labour Market Statistics User Engagement page) showed labour market statistics are also used in academic and private sector research. Significant non-governmental users of labour market statistics include the media, banks, academics, private consultants, and the general public. User requested analysis is published on the NISRA website.


2. Unemployment

2.1 Labour Force Survey unemployment

LFS unemployment: The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines unemployed as those aged 16 and over without a job who were able to start work in the two weeks following their LFS interview and had either looked for work in the four weeks prior to interview or were waiting to start a job they had already obtained.

Key findings

  • The NI unemployment rate for May-July 2024 decreased over both the quarter and the year to 2.0%.
  • The most recent UK unemployment rate for May-July 2024 was estimated at 4.1%.

Figure 1: The latest NI unemployment rate remains historically low

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (Age 16 and over), May-Jul 2009 to May-Jul 2024
Chart
Table
Date Northern Ireland United Kingdom
May-Jul 2009 6.4 7.9
Aug-Oct 2009 6.5 7.9
Nov-Jan 2010 6.3 7.7
Feb-Apr 2010 7.1 8.0
May-Jul 2010 6.7 7.8
Aug-Oct 2010 7.5 7.9
Nov-Jan 2011 7.9 7.9
Feb-Apr 2011 7.2 7.7
May-Jul 2011 7.4 8.0
Aug-Oct 2011 6.9 8.4
Nov-Jan 2012 6.4 8.4
Feb-Apr 2012 7.0 8.2
May-Jul 2012 8.2 8.0
Aug-Oct 2012 7.8 7.9
Nov-Jan 2013 8.3 7.8
Feb-Apr 2013 7.6 7.8
May-Jul 2013 6.9 7.7
Aug-Oct 2013 7.6 7.4
Nov-Jan 2014 7.4 7.2
Feb-Apr 2014 6.7 6.6
May-Jul 2014 6.6 6.2
Aug-Oct 2014 6.4 6.0
Nov-Jan 2015 6.0 5.7
Feb-Apr 2015 6.0 5.5
May-Jul 2015 6.1 5.6
Aug-Oct 2015 6.2 5.2
Nov-Jan 2016 6.1 5.1
Feb-Apr 2016 5.6 5.1
May-Jul 2016 5.3 4.9
Aug-Oct 2016 5.7 4.9
Nov-Jan 2017 5.8 4.8
Feb-Apr 2017 5.3 4.6
May-Jul 2017 5.0 4.4
Aug-Oct 2017 3.9 4.3
Nov-Jan 2018 3.3 4.4
Feb-Apr 2018 3.3 4.3
May-Jul 2018 3.8 4.1
Aug-Oct 2018 3.6 4.1
Nov-Jan 2019 3.5 4.0
Feb-Apr 2019 3.1 3.9
May-Jul 2019 2.8 3.9
Aug-Oct 2019 2.3 3.9
Nov-Jan 2020 2.4 4.0
Feb-Apr 2020 2.5 4.2
May-Jul 2020 3.2 4.4
Aug-Oct 2020 4.0 5.2
Nov-Jan 2021 4.2 5.3
Feb-Apr 2021 3.6 5.0
May-Jul 2021 4.5 4.7
Aug-Oct 2021 4.0 4.3
Nov-Jan 2022 3.2 4.1
Feb-Apr 2022 2.6 4.0
May-Jul 2022 2.9 3.7
Aug-Oct 2022 2.9 3.9
Nov-Jan 2023 2.3 3.8
Feb-Apr 2023 2.4 3.9
May-Jul 2023 2.7 4.3
Aug-Oct 2023 2.2 4.0
Nov-Jan 2024 2.3 4.0
Feb-Apr 2024 2.2 4.4
May-Jul 2024 2.0 4.1


Figure 1 shows the unemployment rates for NI and the UK over the last 15 years. During this period, the UK unemployment rate peaked at 8.4% in late-2011, while the NI unemployment rate peaked at 8.3% in early-2013. Following these peaks, both unemployment rates showed a downward trend until the end of 2019. After rises during the early part of the pandemic, both rates have since decreased. Over the most recent year to May-July 2024, the NI unemployment rate decreased by 0.6pps to 2.0%, the lowest rate in this time series, while the UK unemployment rate decreased by 0.2pps to 4.1%.

The NI unemployment rate (age 16 and over) for the period May-July 2024 was estimated at 2.0%. This was:

  • a decrease of 0.2pps over the quarter (not statistically significant); and
  • a decrease of 0.6pps over the year (not statistically significant).

The number of unemployed people (age 16 and over) in NI was estimated at 18,000, which was:

  • down 2,000 over the quarter; and
  • down 5,000 from the same period last year.

UK regional comparison:

  • The NI unemployment rate (age 16 and over) of 2.0% was 2.1pps below the most recent UK rate of 4.1%.
  • 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 August 2024, the NI claimant count increased by 2.7% to 41,600.
  • In August 2024, 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, August 2009 to August 2024
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Undercount Rate
Aug 2009 5.8
Sep 2009 5.9
Oct 2009 6.0
Nov 2009 6.0
Dec 2009 6.1
Jan 2010 6.1
Feb 2010 6.1
Mar 2010 6.1
Apr 2010 6.1
May 2010 6.1
Jun 2010 6.2
Jul 2010 6.2
Aug 2010 6.3
Sep 2010 6.4
Oct 2010 6.4
Nov 2010 6.4
Dec 2010 6.4
Jan 2011 6.4
Feb 2011 6.5
Mar 2011 6.5
Apr 2011 6.5
May 2011 6.5
Jun 2011 6.6
Jul 2011 6.7
Aug 2011 6.7
Sep 2011 6.7
Oct 2011 6.7
Nov 2011 6.7
Dec 2011 6.7
Jan 2012 6.9
Feb 2012 6.9
Mar 2012 6.9
Apr 2012 7.0
May 2012 7.0
Jun 2012 7.1
Jul 2012 7.2
Aug 2012 7.1
Sep 2012 7.2
Oct 2012 7.2
Nov 2012 7.2
Dec 2012 7.3
Jan 2013 7.2
Feb 2013 7.2
Mar 2013 7.2
Apr 2013 7.2
May 2013 7.1
Jun 2013 7.0
Jul 2013 7.0
Aug 2013 7.0
Sep 2013 6.9
Oct 2013 6.8
Nov 2013 6.7
Dec 2013 6.6
Jan 2014 6.5
Feb 2014 6.4
Mar 2014 6.3
Apr 2014 6.2
May 2014 6.1
Jun 2014 6.0
Jul 2014 5.8
Aug 2014 5.8
Sep 2014 5.8
Oct 2014 5.7
Nov 2014 5.6
Dec 2014 5.5
Jan 2015 5.4
Feb 2015 5.2
Mar 2015 5.0
Apr 2015 4.9
May 2015 4.8
Jun 2015 4.8
Jul 2015 4.7
Aug 2015 4.6
Sep 2015 4.5
Oct 2015 4.4
Nov 2015 4.4
Dec 2015 4.3
Jan 2016 4.2
Feb 2016 4.2
Mar 2016 4.2
Apr 2016 4.1
May 2016 4.0
Jun 2016 4.0
Jul 2016 3.9
Aug 2016 3.8
Sep 2016 3.8
Oct 2016 3.7
Nov 2016 3.6
Dec 2016 3.6
Jan 2017 3.5
Feb 2017 3.5
Mar 2017 3.4
Apr 2017 3.4
May 2017 3.4
Jun 2017 3.3
Jul 2017 3.3
Aug 2017 3.3
Sep 2017 3.2
Oct 2017 3.2
Nov 2017 3.1
Dec 2017 3.2
Jan 2018 3.1
Feb 2018 3.2
Mar 2018 3.1
Apr 2018 3.1
May 2018 3.1
Jun 2018 3.1
Jul 2018 3.0
Aug 2018 3.0
Sep 2018 3.1
Oct 2018 3.1
Nov 2018 3.2
Dec 2018 3.2
Jan 2019 3.1
Feb 2019 3.1
Mar 2019 3.1
Apr 2019 3.1
May 2019 3.1
Jun 2019 3.1
Jul 2019 3.1
Aug 2019 3.0
Sep 2019 3.1
Oct 2019 3.2
Nov 2019 3.2
Dec 2019 3.2
Jan 2020 3.0
Feb 2020 3.0
Mar 2020 3.0
Apr 2020 5.7
May 2020 6.5
Jun 2020 6.3
Jul 2020 6.3
Aug 2020 6.3
Sep 2020 6.1
Oct 2020 6.0
Nov 2020 6.0
Dec 2020 5.9
Jan 2021 5.9
Feb 2021 6.1
Mar 2021 6.0
Apr 2021 5.9
May 2021 5.7
Jun 2021 5.4
Jul 2021 5.3
Aug 2021 5.1
Sep 2021 5.0
Oct 2021 4.8
Nov 2021 4.6
Dec 2021 4.4
Jan 2022 4.1
Feb 2022 4.0
Mar 2022 3.9
Apr 2022 3.7
May 2022 3.7
Jun 2022 3.7
Jul 2022 3.7
Aug 2022 3.6
Sep 2022 3.6
Oct 2022 3.6
Nov 2022 3.7
Dec 2022 3.8
Jan 2023 3.7
Feb 2023 3.6
Mar 2023 3.7
Apr 2023 3.7
May 2023 3.7
Jun 2023 3.7
Jul 2023 3.7
Aug 2023 3.7
Sep 2023 3.8
Oct 2023 3.7
Nov 2023 3.7
Dec 2023 3.7
Jan 2024 3.7
Feb 2024 3.7
Mar 2024 3.7
Apr 2024 3.7
May 2024 3.8
Jun 2024 3.9
Jul 2024 4.1
Aug 2024 4.2


In August 2024, 41,600 people were recorded on the NI Claimant Count. This is 35.2% less than the recent peak in May 2020 and 39.3% more than the pre-pandemic count in March 2020. The increases in the claimant count between March 2020 and May 2020 can largely be attributed to the increase in the numbers of people becoming unemployed or having their hours reduced due to COVID, resulting in very low earnings below the administrative earnings threshold. The claimant count rate in August 2024 is the highest rate since December 2021. This increase is largely due to the increase in the administrative earnings threshold for Universal Credit in May 2024. 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 41,600 (4.2% of the workforce) in August 2024, representing:

  • an increase of 1,100 (2.7%) over the month
  • an increase of 5,400 (15.0%) over the year, and
  • an increase of 11,700 (39.3%) since March 2020.

Changes by sex:

  • an increase of 1.6% in males and an increase of 3.9% in females over the month, and
  • an increase of 7.3% in males and an increase of 25.3% in females over the year.

Changes by age:

  • Over the year, there has been a 2.0% decrease in claimants aged 16 to 24, and increases of 21.8% and 18.2% in claimants aged 25 to 49 and those aged 50 and over respectively.
  • Compared to the pre-pandemic counts in March 2020, there have been increases in the number of claimants for the 16-24 (+2.7%), the 25 to 49 (+60.8%) and the 50 and over (+30.9%) 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 Mid Ulster (+32.5%) and Fermanagh and Omagh (+30.5%).

UK regional comparison:

  • The UK seasonally adjusted claimant count increased by 1.3% over the month to 1,792,400 (4.7% of the workforce).
  • The UK count is 33.6% below the recent peak in August 2020 and 45.7% 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

  • 110 redundancies were confirmed in August 2024, taking the annual total to 2,550, which was two-thirds higher than the figure for the previous year (1,530).
  • In the latest 12-month period, there were 2,760 proposed redundancies, which was around 70% of the figure for the previous year (4,000).

Figure 3: Latest annual total of proposed redundancies lower than previous year while confirmed redundancies remain higher

NI confirmed and proposed redundancies, Annual totals, Sep 2008-Aug 2009 to Sep 2023-Aug 2024
Chart
Table
Year Proposed Confirmed
2008/09 6,270 4,830
2009/10 3,220 2,940
2010/11 2,140 1,890
2011/12 3,850 2,210
2012/13 2,720 3,170
2013/14 3,190 2,010
2014/15 3,590 1,950
2015/16 5,430 3,400
2016/17 2,300 2,130
2017/18 3,590 2,880
2018/19 3,800 1,780
2019/20 9,160 3,880
2020/21 5,460 5,070
2021/22 1,220 1,080
2022/23 4,000 1,530
2023/24 2,760 2,550


Redundancy notification data generally shows a high degree of correlation between proposed and confirmed redundancies when grouped by year. The graph above shows that, generally the number of proposed redundancies is higher than confirmed redundancies, indicating that not all proposed redundancies take place.

The rolling twelve-month total of proposed redundancies was 2,760, the lowest total since May 2023 (2,650) and below the trend seen before the pandemic. The monthly average of proposed redundancies for 2023 was 360, more than double the monthly averages seen in 2021 (160) and 2022 (130).

The August 2024 total of confirmed redundancies (110) was the lowest total since April 2024 (80) and was below the monthly average seen in 2023 (220). The rolling twelve-month total (2,550) is lower than the recent peak seen last month (2,640), but remains similar to levels seen before the pandemic.

Confirmed redundancies

During August 2024, the Department was notified of:

  • 110 confirmed redundancies, half of the monthly average (220) during 2023.

Over the latest twelve month period there were:

  • 2,550 confirmed redundancies, two-thirds higher than the figure for the previous year (1,530).
  • 530 confirmed redundancies (20.8%) in the administrative and support service activities sector.
  • 530 confirmed redundancies (20.6%) in the financial and insurance activities sector.
  • 450 confirmed redundancies (17.6%) in the education 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 August cannot be disclosed.

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

  • 2,760 proposed redundancies, which was around 70% of the figure for the previous year (4,000).
  • 790 proposed redundancies (28.7%) in the education sector.
  • 500 proposed redundancies (18.1%) in the financial and insurance activities sector.
  • 430 proposed redundancies (15.5%) in the manufacturing 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 May-July 2024 decreased over the quarter and increased over the year to 71.1%.
  • The most recent UK employment rate for May-July 2024 was estimated at 74.8%.

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

Seasonally adjusted employment rate (Aged 16 to 64), May-Jul 2009 to May-Jul 2024
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

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


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. When compared to the pre-pandemic rates recorded in November-January 2020, the most recent NI employment rate was 1.2pps below the NI pre-pandemic rate of 72.3%, while the UK rate was 1.3pps below the UK pre-pandemic rate of 76.1%.

The most recent NI employment rate (aged 16 to 64) for the period May-July 2024 was estimated at 71.1%. This was:

  • a decrease of 0.2pps over the quarter (not statistically significant); and
  • an increase of 1.2pps over the year (not statistically significant);

The number of employed people (age 16 and over) in NI was estimated at 873,000, which was:

  • down 4,000 from last quarter; and
  • up 22,000 from the same period last year.

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

  • the male employment rate (74.2%) increased by 0.5pps over the year; and
  • the female employment rate (68.0%) increased by 2.0pps over the year.

UK regional comparison:

  • The NI employment rate (aged 16 to 64) of 71.1% was 3.7pps below the most recent UK rate of 74.8%.
  • the third lowest of the twelve UK regions.

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

Self-employment:

  • In May-July 2024, there were 110,000 self-employed, an increase of 17,000 (+18.4%) on a year ago, and 26,000 lower (-19.3%) than the pre-pandemic figure in November-January 2020.
  • The proportion who were self-employed (12.6%) remains below the pre-pandemic proportion (15.5% recorded in November-January 2020).

Employment by Age:

  • In May-July 2024, those aged 35 to 49 had the highest employment rate (83.2%), whilst those aged 16 to 24 had the lowest (51.0%).
  • Compared to the pre-pandemic rates in November-January 2020, the employment rate for those aged 35 to 49 saw the largest, and only, increase (by 0.1pps, from 83.1% to 83.2%), whilst the rate for those aged 16 to 24 saw the largest decrease (by -5.4pps, from 56.4% to 51.0%).

3.2 Total weekly hours

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

Key findings

  • The total number of weekly hours worked in May-July 2024 was estimated at 28.4 million hours per week.
  • This was an increase of 0.5% on the previous quarter and an increase of 3.6% on the same period last year.

Figure 5: Hours worked similar to pre-pandemic levels

Total weekly hours worked (Age 16 and over), May-Jul 2009 to May-Jul 2024
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Total weekly hours
May-Jul 2009 25.1
Aug-Oct 2009 25.8
Nov-Jan 2010 25.0
Feb-Apr 2010 26.0
May-Jul 2010 25.5
Aug-Oct 2010 25.6
Nov-Jan 2011 24.8
Feb-Apr 2011 26.1
May-Jul 2011 25.8
Aug-Oct 2011 26.4
Nov-Jan 2012 25.3
Feb-Apr 2012 26.2
May-Jul 2012 26.1
Aug-Oct 2012 27.1
Nov-Jan 2013 25.6
Feb-Apr 2013 26.6
May-Jul 2013 26.8
Aug-Oct 2013 27.0
Nov-Jan 2014 26.0
Feb-Apr 2014 27.4
May-Jul 2014 27.2
Aug-Oct 2014 27.7
Nov-Jan 2015 26.6
Feb-Apr 2015 27.4
May-Jul 2015 26.6
Aug-Oct 2015 27.5
Nov-Jan 2016 26.4
Feb-Apr 2016 27.6
May-Jul 2016 27.1
Aug-Oct 2016 27.3
Nov-Jan 2017 27.3
Feb-Apr 2017 28.0
May-Jul 2017 26.8
Aug-Oct 2017 27.8
Nov-Jan 2018 28.0
Feb-Apr 2018 28.1
May-Jul 2018 28.7
Aug-Oct 2018 27.9
Nov-Jan 2019 28.5
Feb-Apr 2019 29.4
May-Jul 2019 29.2
Aug-Oct 2019 29.5
Nov-Jan 2020 28.8
Feb-Apr 2020 26.0
May-Jul 2020 23.6
Aug-Oct 2020 25.9
Nov-Jan 2021 24.8
Feb-Apr 2021 25.4
May-Jul 2021 26.2
Aug-Oct 2021 27.0
Nov-Jan 2022 26.2
Feb-Apr 2022 27.9
May-Jul 2022 27.4
Aug-Oct 2022 27.7
Nov-Jan 2023 27.6
Feb-Apr 2023 28.6
May-Jul 2023 27.4
Aug-Oct 2023 28.0
Nov-Jan 2024 27.5
Feb-Apr 2024 28.2
May-Jul 2024 28.4


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 May-July 2024 remained 3.7% below the peak of 29.5 million hours in August-October 2019.

The total number of weekly hours worked in NI in May-July 2024 was estimated at 28.4 million hours, this was:

  • an increase of 0.1 million hours (0.5%) on the previous quarter;
  • an increase of 1.0 million hours (3.6%) from the same period last year (not statistically significant); and
  • 0.5 million hours, or 1.6%, below the pre-pandemic (November-January 2020) figure.

The average number of weekly hours worked in May-July 2024 was estimated at 36.5 hours for those in full-time employment, and at 17.6 hours for those in part-time employment (for main jobs only, any second jobs are excluded). By sex:

  • for those in full-time employment, the average weekly hours worked for males was 38.5 hours, whereas for females it was 33.6 hours.
  • for those in part-time employment, the average weekly hours worked for males was 18.9 hours, whereas for females it was 17.1 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 decreased by 0.1% over the month and increased by 1.8% over the year to August 2024.
  • In the UK, the number of payrolled employees decreased by 0.2% over the month and increased by 0.4% over the year to August 2024.

Figure 6: Number of payrolled employees decreased over the month

NI payrolled employees (experimental) from PAYE RTI, July 2014 to August 2024
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Northern Ireland
Jul 2014 674,311
Aug 2014 675,873
Sep 2014 676,824
Oct 2014 677,850
Nov 2014 679,757
Dec 2014 679,794
Jan 2015 684,495
Feb 2015 686,967
Mar 2015 688,279
Apr 2015 690,713
May 2015 691,727
Jun 2015 694,301
Jul 2015 696,213
Aug 2015 697,508
Sep 2015 700,096
Oct 2015 700,666
Nov 2015 701,470
Dec 2015 701,339
Jan 2016 702,960
Feb 2016 703,693
Mar 2016 704,797
Apr 2016 704,267
May 2016 705,464
Jun 2016 705,549
Jul 2016 706,330
Aug 2016 707,923
Sep 2016 709,307
Oct 2016 710,511
Nov 2016 713,254
Dec 2016 713,831
Jan 2017 712,854
Feb 2017 714,817
Mar 2017 716,240
Apr 2017 716,528
May 2017 718,806
Jun 2017 720,440
Jul 2017 721,131
Aug 2017 722,675
Sep 2017 724,049
Oct 2017 725,359
Nov 2017 726,651
Dec 2017 729,968
Jan 2018 729,839
Feb 2018 731,283
Mar 2018 732,025
Apr 2018 732,866
May 2018 734,442
Jun 2018 735,130
Jul 2018 736,489
Aug 2018 738,093
Sep 2018 739,311
Oct 2018 740,962
Nov 2018 741,798
Dec 2018 743,009
Jan 2019 744,208
Feb 2019 745,043
Mar 2019 746,594
Apr 2019 746,694
May 2019 747,475
Jun 2019 746,268
Jul 2019 748,536
Aug 2019 748,957
Sep 2019 749,530
Oct 2019 749,873
Nov 2019 751,517
Dec 2019 751,922
Jan 2020 753,619
Feb 2020 754,718
Mar 2020 754,962
Apr 2020 743,198
May 2020 742,667
Jun 2020 741,897
Jul 2020 743,120
Aug 2020 739,127
Sep 2020 739,290
Oct 2020 738,503
Nov 2020 736,963
Dec 2020 737,937
Jan 2021 739,787
Feb 2021 740,203
Mar 2021 741,536
Apr 2021 741,895
May 2021 748,364
Jun 2021 754,878
Jul 2021 761,034
Aug 2021 761,011
Sep 2021 762,227
Oct 2021 763,338
Nov 2021 765,941
Dec 2021 768,714
Jan 2022 770,812
Feb 2022 771,834
Mar 2022 773,468
Apr 2022 774,486
May 2022 776,519
Jun 2022 776,077
Jul 2022 778,248
Aug 2022 781,457
Sep 2022 780,709
Oct 2022 781,396
Nov 2022 782,887
Dec 2022 784,642
Jan 2023 784,602
Feb 2023 785,869
Mar 2023 788,089
Apr 2023 787,914
May 2023 788,551
Jun 2023 788,930
Jul 2023 789,660
Aug 2023 791,584
Sep 2023 793,592
Oct 2023 795,708
Nov 2023 796,994
Dec 2023 798,276
Jan 2024 799,885
Feb 2024 800,949
Mar 2024 801,127
Apr 2024 801,097
May 2024 804,361
Jun 2024 806,370
Jul 2024 806,412
Aug 2024 805,570


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.

Data from the latest HMRC PAYE RTI show that:

  • 805,600 people were payrolled employees in August 2024, a 0.1% decrease from the previous month and a 1.8% increase over the year.
  • in the UK, there were 30,319,700 payrolled employees in August 2024, a decrease of 0.2% over the month and an increase of 0.4% over the year.
  • 11 regions of the UK increased over the year to August 2024, where changes ranged from a decrease of 0.1% in London to an increase of 1.8% in Northern Ireland.
  • between March 2020 and August 2024, all regions of the UK recorded an increase in payrolled employees (4.5% overall). Northern Ireland recorded the largest increase (6.7%) while Scotland recorded the lowest (3.1%).

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 increased by 3.5% (£78) over the month to £2,328 in August 2024 and increased by 11.3% (£237) over the year.
  • UK median monthly pay increased by 0.7% (£17) over the month to £2,420 in August 2024 and increased by 6.2% (£141) over the year.

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

Median Monthly Pay (experimental) from PAYE RTI, July 2014 to August 2024
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Northern Ireland UK
Jul 2014 1490 1594
Aug 2014 1488 1594
Sep 2014 1489 1602
Oct 2014 1493 1593
Nov 2014 1499 1607
Dec 2014 1517 1614
Jan 2015 1500 1620
Feb 2015 1495 1632
Mar 2015 1501 1621
Apr 2015 1498 1608
May 2015 1498 1610
Jun 2015 1492 1617
Jul 2015 1493 1613
Aug 2015 1489 1620
Sep 2015 1495 1616
Oct 2015 1496 1625
Nov 2015 1495 1633
Dec 2015 1500 1631
Jan 2016 1503 1640
Feb 2016 1509 1604
Mar 2016 1520 1652
Apr 2016 1513 1651
May 2016 1515 1657
Jun 2016 1516 1658
Jul 2016 1521 1661
Aug 2016 1528 1663
Sep 2016 1529 1666
Oct 2016 1523 1673
Nov 2016 1532 1666
Dec 2016 1533 1670
Jan 2017 1535 1674
Feb 2017 1535 1691
Mar 2017 1544 1684
Apr 2017 1545 1687
May 2017 1546 1689
Jun 2017 1556 1688
Jul 2017 1556 1699
Aug 2017 1562 1695
Sep 2017 1565 1702
Oct 2017 1566 1705
Nov 2017 1575 1711
Dec 2017 1583 1715
Jan 2018 1572 1726
Feb 2018 1592 1739
Mar 2018 1589 1732
Apr 2018 1587 1726
May 2018 1605 1745
Jun 2018 1611 1751
Jul 2018 1614 1752
Aug 2018 1621 1764
Sep 2018 1622 1765
Oct 2018 1632 1767
Nov 2018 1638 1773
Dec 2018 1639 1777
Jan 2019 1649 1781
Feb 2019 1690 1800
Mar 2019 1657 1797
Apr 2019 1670 1805
May 2019 1681 1805
Jun 2019 1674 1812
Jul 2019 1682 1819
Aug 2019 1683 1827
Sep 2019 1687 1826
Oct 2019 1693 1827
Nov 2019 1689 1830
Dec 2019 1683 1839
Jan 2020 1704 1848
Feb 2020 1712 1814
Mar 2020 1740 1852
Apr 2020 1656 1792
May 2020 1665 1797
Jun 2020 1710 1835
Jul 2020 1743 1859
Aug 2020 1748 1896
Sep 2020 1769 1904
Oct 2020 1779 1921
Nov 2020 1781 1919
Dec 2020 1796 1926
Jan 2021 1786 1928
Feb 2021 1793 1951
Mar 2021 1797 1951
Apr 2021 1809 1957
May 2021 1806 1967
Jun 2021 1825 1967
Jul 2021 1879 1980
Aug 2021 1822 1990
Sep 2021 1852 2010
Oct 2021 1858 2010
Nov 2021 1858 2015
Dec 2021 1915 2026
Jan 2022 1938 2055
Feb 2022 1916 2059
Mar 2022 1926 2072
Apr 2022 1934 2074
May 2022 1941 2082
Jun 2022 1943 2098
Jul 2022 1958 2106
Aug 2022 1973 2122
Sep 2022 1970 2145
Oct 2022 1984 2163
Nov 2022 2012 2181
Dec 2022 2023 2189
Jan 2023 2043 2192
Feb 2023 2053 2213
Mar 2023 2111 2206
Apr 2023 2055 2231
May 2023 2073 2251
Jun 2023 2083 2293
Jul 2023 2085 2277
Aug 2023 2091 2279
Sep 2023 2102 2277
Oct 2023 2106 2288
Nov 2023 2128 2323
Dec 2023 2150 2322
Jan 2024 2137 2331
Feb 2024 2154 2273
Mar 2024 2173 2350
Apr 2024 2185 2381
May 2024 2239 2377
Jun 2024 2323 2391
Jul 2024 2250 2403
Aug 2024 2328 2420


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 3.2%. These monthly decreases coincided with decreases in the number of paid employees recorded in April 2020. Since then, there has been an upward trend in earnings, with notable increases since January 2024. The decrease in median earnings last month followed a similar increase in the previous month, which coincided with local pay awards.

Data from the latest HMRC PAYE RTI show that:

  • NI had a median monthly pay of £2,328 in August 2024, which was an increase of 3.5% on the previous month and an increase of 11.3% over the year.
  • UK had a median monthly pay of £2,420 in August 2024, which was an increase of 0.7% on the previous month and an increase of 6.2% from August 2023.
  • NI had the largest annual increase of the 12 UK regions, and was the fifth highest earning region in the UK in August 2024. London had the highest median pay (£2,864).
  • Since March 2020, earnings in NI have increased by 33.8%, 3.1 pps more than the increase in the UK (30.7%) and highest of all the UK regions.

3.5 Quarterly Employment Survey (QES)

Survey date 03 June 2024

QES employee: anyone aged 16 years or over that is directly paid from a business’s payroll for carrying out a full-time or part-time job or being on a training scheme in NI. The QES counts the number of jobs rather than the number of persons with jobs.

Key findings

  • Employee jobs in NI increased over both the quarter and the year to a new series high of 826,130 jobs in June 2024.

Figure 8: Employee jobs increase to new series high.

NI index of employee jobs, June 2009 to June 2024 (Quarter 2)
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Quarter NI UK
Q2 2009 100.0 100.0
Q3 2009 99.8 99.4
Q4 2009 100.2 98.9
Q1 2010 99.9 98.7
Q2 2010 99.6 98.8
Q3 2010 99.3 98.6
Q4 2010 98.8 98.5
Q1 2011 98.5 98.8
Q2 2011 98.1 98.6
Q3 2011 98.1 98.8
Q4 2011 97.4 99.0
Q1 2012 97.3 99.9
Q2 2012 97.7 99.5
Q3 2012 98.0 99.2
Q4 2012 98.0 99.3
Q1 2013 98.0 99.9
Q2 2013 98.7 100.3
Q3 2013 99.4 100.7
Q4 2013 99.3 101.4
Q1 2014 100.1 102.2
Q2 2014 100.0 103.3
Q3 2014 101.7 103.9
Q4 2014 101.6 104.5
Q1 2015 102.0 105.3
Q2 2015 102.4 105.6
Q3 2015 103.1 106.0
Q4 2015 102.8 106.4
Q1 2016 103.0 107.1
Q2 2016 103.4 107.5
Q3 2016 103.7 107.8
Q4 2016 104.3 107.9
Q1 2017 104.9 108.6
Q2 2017 105.7 108.6
Q3 2017 105.9 109.0
Q4 2017 107.0 108.9
Q1 2018 107.4 109.1
Q2 2018 107.8 109.1
Q3 2018 108.0 109.7
Q4 2018 109.0 109.9
Q1 2019 109.2 110.3
Q2 2019 109.2 110.7
Q3 2019 109.6 111.1
Q4 2019 109.8 111.0
Q1 2020 109.8 111.4
Q2 2020 109.4 110.5
Q3 2020 108.6 109.0
Q4 2020 108.4 109.0
Q1 2021 108.4 109.6
Q2 2021 108.4 110.6
Q3 2021 109.6 111.8
Q4 2021 110.2 112.4
Q1 2022 112.2 113.2
Q2 2022 112.6 114.0
Q3 2022 113.1 114.4
Q4 2022 114.3 115.2
Q1 2023 114.7 116.3
Q2 2023 114.9 116.5
Q3 2023 115.9 117.2
Q4 2023 115.5 117.4
Q1 2024 116.1 117.7
Q2 2024 116.3 117.9


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 135,090 more employee jobs in NI since the lowest point in March 2012, and 5,397,000 more jobs in the UK since December 2010.

The seasonally adjusted employee jobs total in Northern Ireland at June 2024 was 826,130, which was:

  • an increase of 0.2% (1,950 jobs) over the quarter from the revised March 2024 estimate of 824,180; and
  • an increase of 1.2% (10,080 jobs) over the year from the revised June 2023 estimate of 816,050.
  • Neither the quarterly nor annual changes in employee jobs were statistically significant.


4. Economic inactivity

4.1 LFS Economic inactivity

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

Key findings

  • The NI economic inactivity rate increased over the quarter and decreased over the year to 27.5%.
  • The most recent UK economic inactivity rate for May-July 2024 was estimated at 21.9%.

Figure 9: NI economic inactivity consistently above UK average

Seasonally adjusted economic inactivity rates (Aged 16 to 64), May-Jul 2009 to May-Jul 2024
Chart

Note: graph has a non-zero axis

Table
Date Northern Ireland United Kingdom
May-Jul 2009 31.3 23.3
Aug-Oct 2009 30.2 23.3
Nov-Jan 2010 30.0 23.6
Feb-Apr 2010 28.7 23.6
May-Jul 2010 28.7 23.3
Aug-Oct 2010 28.8 23.3
Nov-Jan 2011 28.2 23.3
Feb-Apr 2011 27.5 23.5
May-Jul 2011 27.4 23.5
Aug-Oct 2011 27.2 23.3
Nov-Jan 2012 27.2 23.2
Feb-Apr 2012 27.7 23.1
May-Jul 2012 27.0 22.6
Aug-Oct 2012 26.9 22.8
Nov-Jan 2013 27.5 22.5
Feb-Apr 2013 27.2 22.6
May-Jul 2013 27.4 22.5
Aug-Oct 2013 27.5 22.3
Nov-Jan 2014 26.9 22.3
Feb-Apr 2014 27.0 22.1
May-Jul 2014 27.1 22.4
Aug-Oct 2014 27.1 22.3
Nov-Jan 2015 28.0 22.3
Feb-Apr 2015 27.2 22.3
May-Jul 2015 27.5 22.2
Aug-Oct 2015 26.9 22.0
Nov-Jan 2016 26.6 22.0
Feb-Apr 2016 25.9 21.9
May-Jul 2016 26.3 21.7
Aug-Oct 2016 25.9 21.8
Nov-Jan 2017 26.5 21.8
Feb-Apr 2017 27.2 21.7
May-Jul 2017 27.9 21.4
Aug-Oct 2017 28.7 21.7
Nov-Jan 2018 28.0 21.4
Feb-Apr 2018 27.7 21.2
May-Jul 2018 27.1 21.5
Aug-Oct 2018 27.8 21.2
Nov-Jan 2019 26.4 21.0
Feb-Apr 2019 26.4 21.0
May-Jul 2019 25.8 21.1
Aug-Oct 2019 25.9 21.1
Nov-Jan 2020 25.9 20.7
Feb-Apr 2020 27.3 21.0
May-Jul 2020 27.8 21.2
Aug-Oct 2020 27.4 21.4
Nov-Jan 2021 29.0 21.6
Feb-Apr 2021 29.0 21.7
May-Jul 2021 27.9 21.5
Aug-Oct 2021 28.7 21.6
Nov-Jan 2022 28.9 21.8
Feb-Apr 2022 27.8 21.7
May-Jul 2022 28.2 22.1
Aug-Oct 2022 27.4 21.9
Nov-Jan 2023 27.5 21.7
Feb-Apr 2023 27.1 21.4
May-Jul 2023 28.2 21.6
Aug-Oct 2023 27.7 21.8
Nov-Jan 2024 27.0 22.0
Feb-Apr 2024 27.0 22.3
May-Jul 2024 27.5 21.9


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

During the ten years to 2019, the trend for both the UK and NI economic inactivity rates was generally downward. From the onset of the COVID pandemic, both UK and NI economic inactivity rates increased. Since early-2021 however, the trends have varied, with the NI rate trending downwards whilst the UK rate is trending upwards. Over the last year, the economic inactivity rate in NI has seen a decrease of 0.8pps whilst the UK rate has seen an increase of 0.3pps. The most recent economic inactivity rates for NI (27.5%) and the UK (21.9%) were 1.6pps and 1.2pps higher than their pre-pandemic equivalents in November-January 2020.

The NI economic inactivity rate (aged 16 to 64) for May-July 2024 was estimated at 27.5%, which was:

  • an increase of 0.4pps over the quarter (not statistically significant); and
  • a decrease of 0.8pps over the year (not statistically significant).

The number of economically inactive people (age 16 and over) in NI was estimated at 624,000, which was:

  • up 8,000 from last quarter; and
  • down 7,000 from the same period last year.

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

  • an increase of 0.5pps over the year in the male economic inactivity rate to 24.0%; and
  • a decrease of 2.0pps over the year in the female economic inactivity rate to 30.8%.

UK regional comparison:

  • The NI economic inactivity rate (aged 16 to 64) of 27.5% was 5.6pps above the most recent UK rate of 21.9%.
  • the highest of the twelve UK regions.

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

Reasons for inactivity:

  • In May-July 2024, the most common reason for economic inactivity among the working age population was ‘long-term sick’. There were 134,000 ‘long-term sick’, accounting for 41.3% of the total economically inactive (aged 16 to 64), or 11.4% of the working age population. This was an increase of 1,000 (0.5%) from the same period last year and of 31,000 (+30.3%) from the pre-pandemic figure in November-January 2020.
  • Compared to the pre-pandemic figures in November-January 2020, there has been an increase in the number of ‘long-term sick’ (+31,000) and ‘student’ (+7,000), however the totals for ‘family and home care’ (-15,000) and ‘retired’ (-2,000) have decreased.

Inactivity by Age:

  • In May-July 2024, those aged 65 and over (299,000) made up the highest proportion (47.9%) 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 (89.1%), whilst those aged 35 to 49 had the lowest (15.5%). 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 April to June 2024 was 2,340, a decrease of 9.7% from the same period last year.

Table 1: LFS Response rates, October-December 2021 to April-June 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

Please note, response rates are updated quarterly.

LFS revisions

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

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

LFS comparisons

Estimates of employment, unemployment, and economic inactivity are derived from the LFS. The most robust estimates of short-term movements in these estimates are obtained by comparing the estimates over separate three-month periods, commonly known as 3 month rolling averages. For example, estimates relating to May-July 2024 should be compared with the estimates for February-April 2024. This provides a more robust estimate than comparing with the estimates for April-June 2024, as the May and June data are included within both estimates. The LFS is sampled such that it is representative of the NI population over a three-month period, not for a single month period.

Suppression and shading

Estimates based on fewer than 3 events are suppressed to prevent disclosure. In tables, shading is used to draw attention to lower statistical quality/precision of estimates that are based on a smaller sample size. Shaded estimates still provide the best estimate of the size of a group but comparison across time or between groups with similar values should be avoided. Unshaded estimates are based on a larger sample size. This is likely to result in estimates of higher precision, although they will still be subject to some sampling variability.

Due to the small sample sizes and the effect this 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 March 2024 seasonally adjusted estimate published in June 2024 has been revised to 824,180 jobs (-0.0% or -120 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

Ciaran Kerr
Email:

HMRC PAYE

Ashleigh Warwick
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.