THE number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Belfast has fallen compared to the same time last year according to the latest statistics released by NISRA.
The data shows that in April 2021 there were 15,825 people in the city claiming either Job Seekers Allowance or Universal Credit, down from 15,840 the previous year.
West Belfast saw the highest decrease in the city with a fall of 540 claimants compared to the previous year. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the constituency now stands at 4,335 compared to 4,875 this time last year.
While South Belfast has seen a decrease in the number of claimants on the previous month, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits in the constituency is still five per cent higher than in April 2020, siting at 3,450 compared to 3,285 last year.
East Belfast saw an increase of 7.7 per cent with claimant numbers rising from 2,845 in April 2020 to 3065 in March 2021.
The constituency of North Belfast saw claimant numbers rise modestly with 4,975 claimants compared to 4,890 in April 2020. This is also an increase of 25 claimants compared to March 2021.
Across the North, we have seen the lowest number of monthly confirmed redundancies since June 2020.
9,350 collective redundancies were proposed in the twelve months to the end of April, more than double the number recorded in the previous twelve months (4,590).
140 redundancies were proposed in the three month period between February and April 2021 and a further 150 in the first two weeks of May.
During April 110 redundancies were confirmed, the lowest monthly total since June 2020. This takes the annual total to 5,780, one of the highest since 2001.
Twenty of those redundancies were in South Belfast while ten were in North Belfast. This is a decrease on the previous month when there had been more than 120 confirmed redundancies in the city.
