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Largest decrease in employees in NI since August 2020

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Typical monthly pay in Northern Ireland in December saw an increase of £139 than a year earlier

The number of workers on company payrolls in Northern Ireland dipped in December, according to official figures.

HMRC data suggests there were 803,000 employees in Northern Ireland last month, that's down 0.3% on November and the largest decrease since August 2020.

However, it is 0.6% higher than December 2023.

Typical monthly pay in Northern Ireland was £2,291 in December - that's an increase of £139 or 6.5% higher than a year earlier.

Getty Images Job advertisement section of a newspaper. A magnifying glass is placed pver the word jobs. Getty Images
Northern Ireland has the highest rate of economic inactivity of the 12 UK regions

But Northern Ireland remains the lowest paying UK region, with pay packets continuing to lag behind the UK average of £2,457 in December.

The unemployment rate for September to November 2024 fell to 1.7% which was the lowest on record and the lowest of the 12 UK regions.

The proportion of people in work, known as the employment rate rose slightly to 72.6%.

The rate of economic inactivity rose over the year to 26.1%.

It refers to people who are not in work nor looking for a job, for example students, carers, and the long term sick.

Northern Ireland has the highest rate of economic inactivity of the 12 UK regions.

The most common reason for being economically inactive was long term sickness which accounted for about 39% of the total or 123,000 people.

'Long-term solutions needed'

Chief executive of the Labour Relations Agency Mark McAllister said: "Today's headline figures will no doubt generate headlines regarding the labour market beginning to cool, especially when viewed through the lens of the last number of years."

But he said stubbornly high economic inactivity remains the biggest challenge facing the market.

"There is little doubt that this policy issue is recognised as being the most challenging and requires long-term solutions and a seismic shift in policy direction on everything from benefits to flexible working," he added.