‘Significant' increase in weekly hours worked in Northern Ireland: government report
Data from the labour force survey said there had been 30.4 million hours worked per week between February and April – an increase of 4.3% over the year.
The Department for the Economy, which released data on the labour market on Tuesday, said the number of hours worked was 1.2% above the pre-Covid-19 position.
It described the annual increase as a 'statistically significant' change, which brought the number of hours worked to the highest level recorded in recent times.
But the labour force survey, from the NI Statistics & Research Agency (Nisra), also showed a rise in the economic inactivity rate to 26.9%, following an increase of 1.2 percentage points over the year.
The economic inactivity rate, measuring the proportion of people aged 16 to 64 not working and not seeking or available to work, had also increased by 0.3 percentage points (pps) over the quarter.
Tuesday's data also includes updates from HRMC, which said there had been 809,700 people in NI receiving pay through PAYE in May, a fall of 0.1% over the month but an increase of 0.8% over the year.
HMRC PAYE data also said employees in Northern Ireland had a median monthly pay of of £2,385 in May 2025, a decrease of £21 (0.9%) over the month and an increase of £152 (6.8%) over the year.
According to the labour force survey, the unemployment rate for February to April was 1.8%, which was up 0.2 percentage points (pps) over the quarter and down 0.3pps over the year.
And the survey said the employment rate had dropped by 0.5pps over the quarter and by 1.0pps over the year to 71.7%.
In May, the seasonally adjusted number of people on the claimant count was 38,200, or 3.9% of the workforce, a decrease of 1.5% from the previous month's revised figure. The May 2025 claimant count remains 28% higher than the pre-pandemic count in March 2020.
And Nisra said it had received confirmation that 560 redundancies occurred last month.
Over the year June 2024 to May 2025, 2,170 redundancies were confirmed, which was approximately 90% of the figure for the previous year (2,470).
News Catch Up - Tuesday 10th June
There were 780 proposed redundancies in May 2025, taking the annual total to 3,200, which was around 80% of the figure for the previous year (4,040).
And in the quarterly employment survey, businesses reported that employee jobs increased over the quarter (1.0%) and increased over the year (2.1%) to 840,750 jobs in March 2025.
There were quarterly increases in employee jobs within the manufacturing, construction and services sectors while there was a quarterly decrease in the sector of 'other industry'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
21 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Child Benefit changes on cards after Winter Fuel U-turn
On Newsnight, the Money Saving Expert founder said: "I've been complaining about the Child Benefit Higher Income tax clawback for years, because what that does is that it says if the highest earner in the household earns over £80,000, you don't get Child Benefit. "So then you've got two neighbours who earn just under £60,000, so that's £120,000 for that family. They get Child Benefit. Their next door neighbour, one earns £80,000, one earns nothing, they don't get it. "I have been told for years that we can't split a household payment into a personal tax payment, which is exactly what the government has just done. "So when I got a WhatsApp today from Rachel Reeves telling me, 'sorry I couldn't explain to you in person', because I've been lobbying hard that we need to change on this (winter fuel payment changes), my first reply back is, 'this is wonderful news, and I am relieved, and this is a massive improvement, and I think it will take a lot of pressure off a lot of vulnerable people'. But I did also say, 'by the way, can we now do it for Child Benefit'?." How are Child Benefit high income charges paid? The high-income child benefit charge applies if you or your partner earn more than £60,000. Under current rules, you need to file a self-assessment tax return to pay the charge, but it was mentioned in the Spring Statement that this will soon be available to pay directly through PAYE. Once registered with HMRC, parents should be able to choose to have their HICBC collected through their monthly pay packet, meaning they'll no longer need to file a return for that purpose. "I got a Whatsapp today from Rachel Reeves..." Martin Lewis tells @vicderbyshire he has been texting the Chancellor on how her Winter Fuel U-turn could pave the way for a new approach to Child Benefit payments. #Newsnight — BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) June 9, 2025 How much is Child Benefit and what was the increase for 2025? From April 7 2025, parents receive £26.05 a week (£1,355 a year) for their eldest or only child and £17.25 a week (£897 a year) for each additional child. These figures are a 1.7% increase on the £1,331 a year for the eldest child and £881 a year for each additional child paid in 2024-25 For now, if your income is over the threshold, you can choose to either get Child Benefit payments and pay any tax charge at the end of each tax year, or opt out of getting payments and not pay the tax charge. If you choose to opt out of getting Child Benefit payments You should still fill in the Child Benefit claim form. You need to state on the form that you do not want to get payments. You need to fill in the claim form if you want to: get National Insurance credits, which count towards your State Pension get your child a National Insurance number without them having to apply for one - they'll usually get the number before they turn 16 years old Recommended reading: Is there a two-child cap on Child Benefit? No, and this is the cause of a great deal of confusion, as Martin Lewis has explained on his website Money Saving Expert. "Child Benefit is a universal payment made for every child you have," he says. "It should accurately be called the 'two-child limit for Universal Credit or Tax Credits'. "This one applies to the benefits that people who have low incomes, whether they're working or not working, get. That's what this is about. "And in simple terms, it means if you have more than two children, then you won't get any additional benefit for the costs that they are incurring you (on Universal Credit and Tax Credits)."
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Child Benefit changes on cards after Winter Fuel U-turn
"So then you've got two neighbours who earn just under £60,000, so that's £120,000 for that family. They get Child Benefit. Their next door neighbour, one earns £80,000, one earns nothing, they don't get it. "I have been told for years that we can't split a household payment into a personal tax payment, which is exactly what the government has just done. "So when I got a WhatsApp today from Rachel Reeves telling me, 'sorry I couldn't explain to you in person', because I've been lobbying hard that we need to change on this (winter fuel payment changes), my first reply back is, 'this is wonderful news, and I am relieved, and this is a massive improvement, and I think it will take a lot of pressure off a lot of vulnerable people'. But I did also say, 'by the way, can we now do it for Child Benefit'?." How are Child Benefit high income charges paid? The high-income child benefit charge applies if you or your partner earn more than £60,000. Under current rules, you need to file a self-assessment tax return to pay the charge, but it was mentioned in the Spring Statement that this will soon be available to pay directly through PAYE. Once registered with HMRC, parents should be able to choose to have their HICBC collected through their monthly pay packet, meaning they'll no longer need to file a return for that purpose. "I got a Whatsapp today from Rachel Reeves..." Martin Lewis tells @vicderbyshire he has been texting the Chancellor on how her Winter Fuel U-turn could pave the way for a new approach to Child Benefit payments. #Newsnight — BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) June 9, 2025 How much is Child Benefit and what was the increase for 2025? From April 7 2025, parents receive £26.05 a week (£1,355 a year) for their eldest or only child and £17.25 a week (£897 a year) for each additional child. These figures are a 1.7% increase on the £1,331 a year for the eldest child and £881 a year for each additional child paid in 2024-25 For now, if your income is over the threshold, you can choose to either get Child Benefit payments and pay any tax charge at the end of each tax year, or opt out of getting payments and not pay the tax charge. If you choose to opt out of getting Child Benefit payments You should still fill in the Child Benefit claim form. You need to state on the form that you do not want to get payments. You need to fill in the claim form if you want to: get National Insurance credits, which count towards your State Pension get your child a National Insurance number without them having to apply for one - they'll usually get the number before they turn 16 years old Recommended reading: Is there a two-child cap on Child Benefit? No, and this is the cause of a great deal of confusion, as Martin Lewis has explained on his website Money Saving Expert. "Child Benefit is a universal payment made for every child you have," he says. "It should accurately be called the 'two-child limit for Universal Credit or Tax Credits'. "This one applies to the benefits that people who have low incomes, whether they're working or not working, get. That's what this is about. "And in simple terms, it means if you have more than two children, then you won't get any additional benefit for the costs that they are incurring you (on Universal Credit and Tax Credits)."
Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
‘Significant' increase in weekly hours worked in Northern Ireland: government report
Data from the labour force survey said there had been 30.4 million hours worked per week between February and April – an increase of 4.3% over the year. The Department for the Economy, which released data on the labour market on Tuesday, said the number of hours worked was 1.2% above the pre-Covid-19 position. It described the annual increase as a 'statistically significant' change, which brought the number of hours worked to the highest level recorded in recent times. But the labour force survey, from the NI Statistics & Research Agency (Nisra), also showed a rise in the economic inactivity rate to 26.9%, following an increase of 1.2 percentage points over the year. The economic inactivity rate, measuring the proportion of people aged 16 to 64 not working and not seeking or available to work, had also increased by 0.3 percentage points (pps) over the quarter. Tuesday's data also includes updates from HRMC, which said there had been 809,700 people in NI receiving pay through PAYE in May, a fall of 0.1% over the month but an increase of 0.8% over the year. HMRC PAYE data also said employees in Northern Ireland had a median monthly pay of of £2,385 in May 2025, a decrease of £21 (0.9%) over the month and an increase of £152 (6.8%) over the year. According to the labour force survey, the unemployment rate for February to April was 1.8%, which was up 0.2 percentage points (pps) over the quarter and down 0.3pps over the year. And the survey said the employment rate had dropped by 0.5pps over the quarter and by 1.0pps over the year to 71.7%. In May, the seasonally adjusted number of people on the claimant count was 38,200, or 3.9% of the workforce, a decrease of 1.5% from the previous month's revised figure. The May 2025 claimant count remains 28% higher than the pre-pandemic count in March 2020. And Nisra said it had received confirmation that 560 redundancies occurred last month. Over the year June 2024 to May 2025, 2,170 redundancies were confirmed, which was approximately 90% of the figure for the previous year (2,470). News Catch Up - Tuesday 10th June There were 780 proposed redundancies in May 2025, taking the annual total to 3,200, which was around 80% of the figure for the previous year (4,040). And in the quarterly employment survey, businesses reported that employee jobs increased over the quarter (1.0%) and increased over the year (2.1%) to 840,750 jobs in March 2025. There were quarterly increases in employee jobs within the manufacturing, construction and services sectors while there was a quarterly decrease in the sector of 'other industry'.
