Decrease in local unemployment levels

The number of people registering as out of work in Lisburn has seen a slight decrease, latest figures from the Department for the Economy have revealed.

According to the latest Labour Force Survey figures published for the month of June, the local claimant count - which covers the former Lisburn council area - now stands at 1,510 claimants, compared to 1,515 in May.

Wards in the Lisburn district registering the most claimants for unemployment were Collin Glen with 190 (185 in May); Derryaghy with 150 (140 in May); and Poleglass and Twinbrook each with 90 (85 and 90 in May respectively).

The Lisburn wards with the lowest claimant counts were Ballymacbrennan, Drumbo, Hillsborough, and Wallace Park, each with 10 claimants (no change from May).

Meanwhile, across the new Lisburn and Castlereagh Borough Council area, there were1,205 people registering as claimants, compared to 1,255 the previous month.

Of the registered claimants in the borough, 805 were male and 400 were female.

In June, the number of people on the claimant count in Northern Ireland (which includes some out-of-work claimants of Universal Credit) was was 28,600 (3.1% of the workforce).

This represents a decrease of 200 from the previous month’s revised figure.

The Labour Market Report is a monthly overview of key labour market statistics.

It includes figures from the Labour Force Survey, the claimant count (people claiming unemployment related benefits), the Quarterly Employment Survey, the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and official redundancy data.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed redundancies (2,848) in the most recent 12 months is 23% higher than in the previous 12 months.

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, acting on behalf of the Department for the Economy, received confirmation that 792 redundancies took place in June 2018; approximately two fifths of which occurred in the manufacturing sector.