The dole queue in Northern Ireland has lengthened but the jobs market remains in relatively good health despite rising inflation and concerns over the economy.
That is the message from the latest release of monthly labour figures by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency which recorded 36,200 people on the claimant count in November, a jump of 1.2% on October and up some 21% on March 2020.
Despite that hike, the headline unemployment figure – the number of people of working age not in work - was down 1.2% on the year to 2.7%. Meanwhile, the number of payrolled employees increased while the number of economically inactive – those of working age not looking for a job, such as students, carers and long-term sick – also fell.
