Jobs figures: NI pay packets continue to grow in April

Image source, PA Media

Image caption, Pay packets continued to grow in April

Pay packets in Northern Ireland continued to grow in April with typical monthly pay of 拢2,192.

That is an increase of 拢140 or 6.8% in 12 months.

Wages in NI still lag the UK average monthly pay of 拢2,381 in April, which was an increase of 6.9% or 拢153 over the year.

The latest figures from HMRC also show the unemployment rate for January to March was 2.1% - down 0.3% on the year and the lowest of the UK regions.

The proportion of people in work rose by 1% over the year to 71.8% - the highest level since before the pandemic.

However it is still well below the UK rate of 74.5%.

The number of people not in work and not looking for a job - the economically inactive, for example students, carers or sick - decreased by 0.8% over the year to 26.6%.

The rate in Northern Ireland continues to be significantly higher than the UK average of 22.1%.

The most common reason for economic inactivity was "long-term sick", with 122,000 making up 39.2% of the total economically inactive.

Meanwhile, the number of people in Northern Ireland on company payrolls dipped last month which could be a sign of the jobs market softening.

The figures show that in April there were 799,600 employees on company payrolls - that's 0.3% lower than March but 1.3% higher than the same time last year.