Zarah ChoudharyThe number of payrolled employees in Northern Ireland decreased slightly in December 2024, while median earnings saw little growth, according to the latest data from HMRC PAYE.
The total number of employees receiving pay was 803,000, marking a 0.3% decline over the month but a 0.6% increase compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the median monthly pay for employees rose to £2,291, an increase of £2 (0.1%) over the month and £139 (6.5%) over the year.
The Labour Force Survey provided further insights into Northern Ireland’s economic performance for the period September to November 2024.
The unemployment rate dropped to 1.7%, representing decreases of 0.1 percentage points over the quarter and 0.7 percentage points over the year.
The employment rate for individuals aged 16 to 64 increased to 72.6%, up 0.5 percentage points over the quarter and 0.2 percentage points over the year, while the total weekly hours worked rose to 30.3 million, a 5.3% increase from the previous quarter.
In terms of economic inactivity, the rate for those aged 16 to 64 stood at 26.1%, showing a quarterly decline of 0.4% points but an annual increase of the same magnitude.
The seasonally adjusted claimant count rate remained steady at 4.1% of the workforce, with 40,000 individuals recorded, representing a 1.4% decrease from the previous month.
However, this figure remained 33.9% higher than pre-pandemic levels in March 2020.
Redundancies were notably lower in 2024 compared to the previous year.
The Department for the Economy confirmed 1,840 redundancies between January and December 2024, approximately 70% of the 2,600 reported in 2023.
Proposed redundancies followed a similar trend, with 2,980 recorded over the same period, down from 4,300 in the previous year.
In December 2024 alone, 240 redundancies were confirmed.
