Ulster Unionist MLA Basil McCrea has criticised the Executive for not acting quickly enough on unemployment. Today’s figures from the Labour Force Survey shows that there has been an increase in those unable to find work.
Total employment fell by 2,000, unemployment increased by 4,000, leading to a rise of 7,000 in the economically active population. In stark contrast the UK’s rate of unemployment is falling. Youth unemployment is particularly distressing. Northern Ireland’s unemployment rate for 18-24 year olds is at a staggering 23.5%, well above the UK’s average rate of 19.3%.’
Mr McCrea, who chairs the Stormont Employment & Learning committee, said: “The Minister needs to be addressing these serious concerns; this is not the type of trend we should be seeing. Youth unemployment is particularly worrying especially as the Minister and his department have brought out strategies and schemes to help young people find employment but of the 8,760 claimants who joined the count in August 2012, 40.9% were under 25.”
“This is a clear problem throughout the Executive, the First Minister dismissed the problem of youth unemployment earlier in the year in the Assembly.”
“We need to be doing more to get these people back into employment as the claimant count figures show. Northern Ireland (6.9%) was higher than the UK average rate (4.8%). Not only is NI’s rate higher than the UK but, this is the 29th consecutive month that NI has had the highest or second highest UK region unemployment rate.”
ENDS
Peter Robinson questioned on Youth Unemployment in the Assembly 17th January 2012
http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/Assembly-Business/Official-Report/Reports-11-12/17-January-2012/
Mr B McCrea: I note the First Minister’s welcome of an east-west forum to discuss these matters, with the focus on youth employment. Notwithstanding the point about economically inactive people, youth unemployment in Northern Ireland has risen faster than in any other region of the United Kingdom. The Department for Work and Pensions has already announced a £940 million package called Youth Contract to address the issue, and Scotland and Wales have their initiatives in place. Will the First Minister explain what information he gained about those initiatives in the exchange of information and why we do not yet have a similar package in place to challenge what, he agrees, is a very serious problem?
Mr P Robinson: Youth unemployment has risen so fast because it came from a low base. As I have already indicated, our levels of youth unemployment — leaving aside the issue of the economically inactive — are lower than anywhere else in the British Isles, with the exception of one or two of the dependencies, which have virtually no unemployment at all.