THE number of people in Northern Ireland claiming unemployment benefit has risen to 61,500, an increase of 600 from December, according to official figures published yesterday.
Northern Ireland has the second highest rate of claimants among the 12 United Kingdom regions.
Despite the claimant rise, the unemployment rate in the province at 7.2 per cent is still below that of the UK average which stands at 8.4 per cent.
The Labour Force Survey of unemployment for October to December 2011 was down 0.1 per cent on the previous quarter and down 0.7 per cent since last year.
However, seven per cent of the working population in Northern Ireland claimed Jobseekers Allowance in January.
Northern Ireland continues to have a high rate of economic inactivity – 27.2 per cent which compares to a UK figure of 23.1 per cent.
People who are not able to work or are not seeking work are classed as economically inactive.
About one third of those classed as economically inactive in Northern Ireland are sick or disabled and another third are students.
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said her department would make every effort to generate new employment opportunities.
“This increase in claimants was the largest for several months and emphasises that there is still work to do in order to move on from the impact of the economic downturn,” said the minister.
“Yesterday’s (Tuesday) decision by the Executive to fund a number of capital projects is a welcome boost for the Northern Ireland economy as a whole.
“This major investment will generate in excess of 2,500 construction jobs which is welcome news for the construction industry at this difficult time.”
Commenting on the latest figures, Northern Bank chief economist Angela McGowan said: “The headline unemployment data in Quarter 4 2011 has proven to be remarkably resilient considering the prevailing economic climate at that time.
“However, a closer inspection quickly reveals that some regions in Northern Ireland, such as the North West and pockets of Belfast, are more badly affected than others.
“In addition, men have a higher unemployment rate than women (9.1 per cent versus five per cent) and young people are the worst affected with an unemployment rate of 18.1 per cent. Clearly a targeted approach to skills and training courses for those worst affected will help.
“The Executive’s recent infrastructure investment announcement will without doubt have a positive impact upon construction jobs for males and young people in the short to medium term; but we must also keep in mind long-term economic goals.”
Wilfred Mitchell, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Policy Chair, said news that the unemployment rate in Northern Ireland was now below the UK average was very welcome but the fact that the province continues to have a much higher rate of economic inactivity – was concerning.
“All in all the various statistics paint a confusing picture of the state of the local labour market and further highlight the need for urgent, robust action to deal with what can only be described as major hindrances to economic growth in Northern Ireland.”