Northern Ireland unemployment figures released
UNEMPLOYMENT in Northern Ireland has risen by 1.5% and now stands at 8.4%.
As well as this, nearly 300 people were made redundant in March and 68,000 people signed onto unemployment benefit.
Dave Prentis, UNISON’s General Secretary, said: “This rise in unemployment is further proof that the Chancellor has lost his grip on the economy. Every job lost is a personal tragedy and yet compared to pre-crisis levels, there are a million more people facing the misery of unemployment in the UK. The Westminster government has failed every single one of these people.”
“The Westminster government has to start taking effective action to turn our economy around. It must stop the public sector jobs carnage – more than 400 jobs are lost from the sector every single day. Instead of targeting benefits, the Westminster government must focus on creating jobs. The consequences of holding down public sector pay are being felt on the high street, local shops and businesses are suffering workers have nothing left at the end of the month.
