[Northern Ireland] Signs of weakening labour market despite record payroll number

There are indications that Northern Ireland’s labour market is weakening, despite a record number of people on company payrolls in October, The Irish News reports.

A total of 781,262 people were registered on HMRC’s PAYE system last month, 1,295 more than in September.

The figures were published - together with the latest labour market report - by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra).

October’s report showed that payroll numbers had dropped in the north for the first time in over a year. And the latest report showed some signs of worsening economic conditions.

The unemployment rate has officially climbed to 3 per cent for the three-month period to September, while around 500 people were reportedly added to the claimant count in October.

The count includes people claiming jobseeker’s allowance and universal credit claimants who were claiming principally for the reason of being unemployed. It rose to 36,100 last month.

Although the claimant count has decreased by 9,800 in a year, it’s still 6,300 higher than in March 2020, as the pandemic hit the north.

On November 14, the latest PMI from Ulster Bank showed output in the private sector is in decline, however, companies continue to add jobs and are encountering problems with recruitment, indicating an extremely tight labour market.

In a possible reflection of that, Nisra reportedly estimates the overall employment rate in Northern Ireland increased by 0.4 percentage points to 70.1 per cent for the rolling three months to September 2022.

In addition, the number of larger employers pursuing redundancies remains low with just 60 confirmed redundancies during October.

Nisra stated that the 940 confirmed redundancies it recorded in the last year were the lowest rolling 12-month total in the series, which began in 2000.

The figures only include cases of employers laying off 20 or more employees. 

There are indications that Northern Ireland’s labour market is weakening, despite a record number of people on company payrolls in October, The Irish News reports.

A total of 781,262 people were registered on HMRC’s PAYE system last month, 1,295 more than in September.

The figures were published - together with the latest labour market report - by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra).

October’s report showed that payroll numbers had dropped in the north for the first time in over a year. And the latest report showed some signs of worsening economic conditions.

The unemployment rate has officially climbed to 3 per cent for the three-month period to September, while around 500 people were reportedly added to the claimant count in October.

The count includes people claiming jobseeker’s allowance and universal credit claimants who were claiming principally for the reason of being unemployed. It rose to 36,100 last month.

Although the claimant count has decreased by 9,800 in a year, it’s still 6,300 higher than in March 2020, as the pandemic hit the north.

On November 14, the latest PMI from Ulster Bank showed output in the private sector is in decline, however, companies continue to add jobs and are encountering problems with recruitment, indicating an extremely tight labour market.

In a possible reflection of that, Nisra reportedly estimates the overall employment rate in Northern Ireland increased by 0.4 percentage points to 70.1 per cent for the rolling three months to September 2022.

In addition, the number of larger employers pursuing redundancies remains low with just 60 confirmed redundancies during October.

Nisra stated that the 940 confirmed redundancies it recorded in the last year were the lowest rolling 12-month total in the series, which began in 2000.

The figures only include cases of employers laying off 20 or more employees.