THE number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Belfast continued to fall in February with figures standing at 11,130 compared to the revised figure of 11,235 the previous month and 15,825 in February 2021.

West Belfast saw the largest decrease with 2,990 claimants in February, down 85 claimants on the previous month and 1,385 less than the previous year. 

Figures for North Belfast fell from 3,715 in January to 3,690 in February which was down  1,260 on last year. 

There were 2,005 claimants in East Belfast, down from 2,025 in January and 3,025 in February 2021.

South Belfast was the only area in the city to see an increase in claimants when compared to January with 2,445 people claiming unemployment benefits which represents a rise of 25 on the revised figure and a decrease of 1,030 on last year. 

Across the North, there were 38,530 claimants which was down 560 on the previous month and 18,585 on last year. 

In March 2022, the seasonally adjusted number of people on the claimant count was 37,900 (4.0 per cent of the workforce), which is a decrease of 1,000 (2.6 per cent) from the previous month’s revised figure.  The March claimant count is 41 per cent less than the recent peak in May 2020, and 27 per cent higher than the pre-pandemic count in March 2020.

The Labour Force Survey shows statistically significant decreases in the unemployment rate over the quarter and year to December-February 2022 to 2.5 per cent (0.6pps and 1.0pps respectively). The latest unemployment rate is the same as the rate reported in the pre-pandemic period (December-February 2020).

Earnings from the HMRC PAYE indicated that employees in the North of Ireland had a median monthly pay of £1,928 in March 2022, an increase of £14 (0.7 per cent) over the month and £125 (6.9 per cent) over the year. 

NISRA received confirmation that 30 redundancies occurred in March 2022.  At 1,850, the annual total was 68 per cent less than in the previous year.  Over the year April 2021 to March 2022, 2,130 redundancies were proposed, 79 per cent less than in the previous 12 months.

Over the first three months of 2022, the total number of confirmed redundancies (90) was the lowest three-month total on record.  With the exception of February 2022, where there were 210 proposed redundancies (still well below the average number of proposed redundancies in the second half of 2020 of 1,050 per month), there have been low or no proposed redundancies in each of the months between September 2021 and March 2022.

SDLP South Belfast Assembly candidate Matthew O’Toole has said that the latest labour market statistics paint a bleak picture of wage growth struggling to keep up with the soaring cost of living as working families are placed under more pressure. 

“Pressure on working families is set to increase in the coming months as wage growth struggles to keep pace with inflation. We are already seeing real terms wage decline in Britain as the cost of fuel, food and energy places immense pressure on working families. In communities across Northern Ireland, the reality for people is bleak."