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The number of redundancies proposed in the North has doubled in a year, according to official statistics.<\/p>\nThe number of redundancies proposed in the North has doubled in a year, according to official statistics.<\/p>\n
There were 10,720 collective redundancies proposed to the end of November.<\/p>\n
Of these, 10,000 were since March when the coronavirus pandemic took a grip on the region.<\/p>\n
According to figures recorded by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra), the redundancy number is double that of the previous year.<\/p>\n
Approximately half of the redundancies were described as being in the manufacturing, and wholesale and retail sectors.<\/p>\n
The region\u2019s unemployment rate is now 3.9 per cent \u2013 1.6 per cent up on last year.<\/p>\n
Nisra also recorded the first annual decline in employee jobs since September 2012.<\/p>\n
Estimates from the Quarterly Employment Survey September 2020 indicate that employee jobs decreased over the year by 4,080 to 775,020 jobs.<\/p>\n
Both the manufacturing (down 2,930 jobs) and services (down 2,760 jobs) sectors experienced decreases in employee jobs over the year.<\/p>\n
Those furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme are included in employee jobs estimates.<\/p>\n
Nisra noted the latest data show that employment and jobs are below pre-pandemic levels, while measures of unemployment are higher than the levels before Covid-19 struck.<\/p>\n