Unemployment in the North fell by 0.3 percentage points to 6 per cent for the period from November to January amd was dowm 1.5 percentage points compared to the same three month period a year earlier.

New figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA) show the North’s unemployment rate is lower than that of the EU or the Republic of Ireland but still above that of the UK as a whole, which stands at 5.7 per cent, its lowest rate in more than six years.

Unadjusted estimates for the November to January period show that 63.1 per cent of those signing on in Northern Ireland have been unemployed for one year or more. This is up 14.2 percentage points from one year ago. The unemployment rate for those aged between 18-24 year fell 2.9 percentage points to 19.5 per cent, compared to the UK average of 14 per cent.

The seasonally adjusted number of people claiming unemployment related benefits stood at 46,200 in February 2015 – down 1,700 from the revised figure for the previous month. This is the 26th consecutive month in which there has been a fall in this measure of unemployment.

The Northern Ireland claimant count rate of 5.2 per cent for February was the highest among the twelve UK regions, however.

For the UK as a whole, unemployment fell 102,000 to 1.86 million in the three months through January, while regular pay rose by 1.6 per cent.

The number of people in work jumped 143,000 to a record-high 30.9 million in the latest three months. A narrower measure of unemployment showed claims for jobless benefits fell 31,000 in February from January, compared with the median estimate for a 30,000 drop. The claimant-count has fallen for 28 months in a row.

In the three months through January, wages including bonuses rose 1.8 per cent, compared with 2.1 per cent in the fourth quarter. Bonuses were 5.3 per cent lower in January than a year earlier.

Additional reporting: Bloomberg