Job losses ahead warns Empey

Jobless figure at lowest since 1975

Unemployment in Northern Ireland has continued to fall but a warning has been delivered on the future of the local economy.

The latest figures reveal 400 less people are out of work and claiming jobseekers' allowance compared to the previous month, once seasonal factors are taken into account.

In total 46,000 people - or 6% of the workforce - are without a job, according to the latest Labour Force Survey published on Wednesday.

This is the lowest level of unemployment in the province since 1975.

However, Northern Ireland Economy Minister Sir Reg Empey warned the figures did not reflect the economic impact of the 11 September attacks in the United States.

Sir Reg Empey: Job cuts on way

Sir Reg said he felt the local economy faced a difficult future with many job losses in the pipeline.

'Challenging times'

"There are now many job losses, most significant of which are the 2,000 proposed redundancies at Bombardier Aerospace, which we had not anticipated," he said.

"This, added to the other job losses which are already in the pipeline, indicate that the Northern Ireland economy faces a difficult future.

"Clearly there are challenging times ahead, however what these statistics do indicate is that the Northern Ireland economy, as evidenced by low recorded levels of unemployment, was in reasonably good shape before events in the United States.

"It is therefore imperative that our business community rises to this challenge and does not stagnate in response to global pressures," Sir Reg said.

Slower growth

The drop in the figures in Northern Ireland has been mirrored across the rest of the United Kingdom.

The number of UK dole claimants fell by 4,900 last month, the Office for National Statistics said.

Most experts had expected the figure to rise, given the implications of last month's terrorist attacks for global, and UK, economies already showing slower growth.

But while the headline figure fell, a second measure of unemployment, which tries to include those people not drawing benefits, showed a rise in the number of UK jobless.

Earnings figures released in Wednesday's report revealed that the rate of salary rises has slowed, suggesting wage pressures remain subdued.