Jobless increase by 75% in a year

There are 42,000 people claiming unemployment related benefit in NI

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Northern Ireland has risen by 75.7% over the last 12 months.

The increase over the year was 18,100. There are currently 42,000 people without a job in Northern Ireland.

Nearly 80% of the increase in claimants occurred in the last six months.

In February alone, the number claiming benefits rose by 3,000, one of the highest increases of the last 12 months, second only to November 2008.

The annual percentage increase of 75.7% was marginally higher than the figure recorded for the rest of the United Kingdom, 74.9%.

While the number of those looking for work increased, the number of jobs available decreased, said the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

There were 710,920 employee jobs filled in December 2008. This represented an estimated net decrease of 5,370 over the quarter and a fall of 14,200 over the year.

'Disappointing'

This was the third successive quarterly decrease.

Commenting on the figures Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said the figures were "disappointing, but not unexpected".

"Most of the increases have occurred in the last six months and it is clear that employers are increasingly feeling the impact of the economic downturn. It is equally clear that there are no quick fixes available to turn around the global economy," she said.

"The executive will continue to do what it can to assist businesses through this difficult period."

Unemployment for the whole of the UK has risen to more than two million for the first time in 12 years.