Derry dole figures double Belfast exurbs

Seven per cent of the working age population in Derry and Strabane District Council are now claiming Universal Credit or Jobseekers.

That’s double the rate of 3.6 per cent of people claiming welfare entitlements in the Lisburn and Castlereagh area that encircles South Belfast.

When the figures are unadjusted for seasonality they are just as bad.

The highest unadjusted claimant count rates were in Derry City and Strabane (6.7 per cent) and Belfast (6.2 per cent) and the lowest claimant count rates were in Lisburn and Castlereagh (3.5 per cent) and Fermanagh and Omagh (3.8 per cent).

The data show that across the north as a whole there were 340 proposed redundancies in December 2020. During 2020, 11,000 redundancies were proposed, the highest annual total since records began.

SDLP economy spokesperson Sinéad McLaughlin has described the latest employment statistics as ‘very worrying’.

She said: “The disclosure that 11,000 jobs were earmarked last year for potential redundancy, with 4,680 confirmed redundancies, is a sign of the scale of the crisis we are in. It is a crisis that is likely to get worse and requires strong leadership from the Executive and from economy minister Diane Dodds. A clear economic plan is needed from her department that is focused on skills, renewal, the zero carbon economy and strengthening all-island economic links.

“The distribution of unemployment remains a very serious concern and an indication of deeply imbedded inequality. The claimant count is 7 per cent in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area, significantly above other areas, with Belfast the next highest at 6.4% and other areas much lower, for example Lisburn and Castlereagh at 3.6 per cent.”