Ballymena’s jobless total up by 106

The claimant count in the area has gone up by 106 from December to January latest figures from the Department of Enterprise have revealed.

In January, a total of 1,809 people claimed unemployment benefit in the borough, compared to 1.703 the previous month.

Wards within the borough registering the most claimant counts for unemployment were Ballee 136 (122 in December), Castle Demesne 124 (114 in December) and Ballykeel 119 (119 in December).

The area with the least registered out of work in January was Slemish with 32 (31 in December).

Province wide, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits remained unchanged at 65,000 in January, which is the second highest claimant rate in the UK.

While there was no change, the rate was in contrast with the rest of the UK which saw a 0.8% decrease.

Over the year nearly 4,000 extra people signed on in Northern Ireland, while the UK as a whole saw fewer people claiming.

Seasonally adjusted estimates for October-December 2012 showed 799,000 people in employment in Northern Ireland.

Commenting on the figures, Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: “The rate of unemployment in Northern Ireland was equal to that in the UK and still compares favourably to the rates in the European Union and the Republic of Ireland.”