NI unemployment falls to one of lowest rates ever

Unemployment in Northern Ireland fell to one of the lowest rates on record in the last quarter, according to official figures.

The unemployment rate between June and August of this year fell 0.2% to 2.9%, which is well below the UK average of 3.9%.

However, the number of people in work - the employment rate - fell 0.3% to 71.5%.

That is also below the UK average of 75.9%

• NI unemployment rate hits historic low

• NI employment rate at 'record high'

The Northern Ireland inactivity rate, which is the number of people not in work or looking for a job, like student, rose 0.4% to 26.4%.

That remains consistently higher than the UK rate of 21.0%.

According to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), there were 1,452 proposed redundancies and 286 confirmed redundancies notified to the Department for Employment and Learning in September 2019.

The proposed redundancies is the highest monthly total since 2003.