Commenting on October’s Labour Market Report, released by NISRA this morning, Mark McAllister, Director of Employment Relations Services at the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) says:
“Despite a very small increase in the number of workers on the payroll (up 1.9% over the year) the figures are eclipsed by very recent significant job loss announcements and redundancy exercises. This is a reminder that statistics are a snapshot in time and lack the contemporaneous impact of real time figures.
“NI had the smallest pay rise in the UK and this will not be lost on trade unions and NI Executive ministers alike when the negotiating parties are around the pay talk tables in the coming weeks.
“These statistics – along with inflation – will be in the mix in all pay negotiations as we move towards the end of the financial year. There will be a keen focus on ‘catch up’, on-going cost -of-living, future proofing and sustainable pay deals.
“The number of people that are off on long-term sick is worryingly high. This statistic has been steadily increasing to such an extent that it is perhaps the stand-out of all the data. This has significant policy ramifications regarding the age-old chestnut issues of economic inactivity and productivity which are the basis for the elixir of the economy.”