No change in local unemployment

According to the latest Labour Force Survey figures published for the month of May, the local claimant count now stands at 815 claimants - no change from April.

Wards in the Ballymena district registering the most claimants for unemployment were Ballee with 65 (60 in April); Castle Demesne with 55 claimants (55 in April); Dunclug with 55 claimants (55 in April); Harryville with 55 (60 in April); and Moat with 55 (50 in April).

The Ballymena wards with the lowest claimant counts were Ballyloughan with 15 claimants (15 in April); Craigywarren with 15 (15 in April); Dunminning with 15 (20 in April); and Slemish with 15 (15 in April).

Across the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area, there were 1,975 people registering as claimants, a drop of 1.5 per cent from the previous month.

Of the registered claimants in the borough, 1,325 were male and 650 were female.

Meanwhile, in the Antrim district, the number of people registering as out of work has seen a decline for the third month in a row.

In May, a total of 630 people registered were registered as out of work, compared to 675 in February, 660 in March, and 645 in April.

The ward with the highest number of claimants was Crumlin with 65 (no change from April).

The wards with the lowest number of claimants were Drumanaway and Templepatrick, both with 15 (15 and 20 in April, respectively).

In May, the number of people on the claimant count in Northern Ireland (which includes some out-of-work claimants of Universal Credit) was 28,900. This represents a decrease of 100 from the previous month’s revised figure.

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