The number of people out of work in Northern Ireland is still on the increase, it was revealed today.
The jobless figure increased by 200 last month to 54,000. Over the year the number of people claiming unemployment benefits has increased by 56 per cent (19,300 people).
The number of confirmed redundancies has also nearly doubled this year compared to last.
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: “The view of most economic commentators is that there will be a time lag before any recovery in business confidence is translated into jobs growth.
“The labour market results in the next few months will let us know if this is the case.” The unemployment rate has remained relatively constant over the most recent period.
However, the latest figures showed the construction, services and manufacturing sectors all reported continuing job losses.
The number of people of working age that were economically inactive decreased by an estimated 12,000 over the quarter.
However the inactivity rate at 28 per cent remained considerably higher than the UK average and the highest of the 12 regions.
The Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment said it was notified of 393 redundancies last month compared to 219 in October and 262 in November 2008.
There has also been a 94 per cent increase in the number of confirmed redundancies over the last year.
PA