2020 was a record year for redundancies across Belfast according to data released this week by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). 

The latest NISRA Labour Market Statistics show that since the Covid-19 pandemic struck in March, 1,510 redundancies have been proposed across the city. However, this does not include instances where a company has made fewer than twenty staff redundant. 

When compared to the previous year, West Belfast saw the highest proportional increase in people being made redundant in the city with the number losing their jobs tripling from 78 in 2019 to 240 in 2020. 

The constituency of South Belfast saw the number of redundancies more than double from 241 in 2019 to 560 in 2020. It was a similar picture in the east of the city where the number of people being made redundant jumped from 227 in 2019 to 470 in 2020.

North Belfast however saw the lowest increase in people losing their jobs with an increase from 171 in 2019 to 300 in 2020. 

The number of people who are living in the city and are claiming either Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit has also doubled in the previous year with 15,690 people in receipt of unemployment benefits in December 2020 compared to 7,910 during the same period in 2019.

 “It is clear from the high claimant count and the record number of redundancies that we are dealing with an economic situation with no precedent, which needs serious resources and serious policy to give people protection in their time of need.

South Belfast saw the biggest increase in the number claiming unemployment benefits during 2020 with a rise from 1,405 people in December 2019 to 3,455 claimants in December 2020.  The number claiming unemployment benefits in east Belfast also more than doubled during the pandemic with numbers rising from 1,375 at the end of 2019 to 3,015 in December 2020. 

Meanwhile north Belfast saw the number of people claiming unemployment rocket with figures now standing at 4,865 compared to 2,670 at the end of 2019. While West Belfast had the second highest number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the city, it had the smallest increase when compared to the previous year as figures rose from 2,460 to 4,355. 

However, these figures do not include the number of people who are furloughed or availing of the various self-employed financial help schemes. Across the North there were 68,000 people furloughed at the end of October. While the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is due to end in April, if the restrictions are extended then it is likely that the scheme will continue beyond that date. 

Reacting to these statistics, the MP for South Belfast Claire Hanna called for greater certainty from the British Government and for Stormont to ensure they are doing all they can to support families and businesses who are struggling in the current climate.

Speaking to this paper she said: “It is clear from the high claimant count and the record number of redundancies that we are dealing with an economic situation with no precedent, which needs serious resources and serious policy to give people protection in their time of need.

“We still need certainty on the Universal Credit uplift and the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, both of which we are pushing at Westminster. The rules can be challenging but it is imperative that Covid underspends are used quickly, particularly by the Communities and Economy departments who have key roles in protecting low income families and local businesses.”