Official numbers reveal that the number of paid employees in Northern Ireland increased by 1.3 percent last month compared to before the outbreak.
Employee numbers in Northern Ireland reached a new high of 762,000 in July, according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra).
It's the second month in a row that numbers have topped pre-Covid levels from March 2020. Payroll data from HM Revenue and Customs is the most up-to-date and accurate single indicator of the labor market.
In July, the number of employees was anticipated to be 762,600, up 1.3 percent from March 2020 and 3.1 percent more than the same period previous year. It includes furloughed employees, who numbered about 44,000 at the end of June.
The furlough program is set to finish in October, but it has already started to wind down. This could explain why there was a surge in redundancies in June and July, with 850 suggested in July. Near the beginning of the pandemic crisis, the establishment of the furlough system helped to stabilize the job market.
The unemployment rate in April-June 2021 was 3.8 percent, up 0.4 percent from the previous quarter and 1.2 percent from the previous year. The data were released on Tuesday in the wake of two major employment announcements in separate sectors of the economy. Wrightbus, based in Ballymena, will create up to 300 jobs as a result of new orders.
Jo Bamford purchased the company that went into administration in 2019. A total of 120 temporary positions are being converted to permanent positions. Mr. Bamford stated that by 2022, he expects to increase the employment from 56 employees two years ago to over 900.
Meanwhile, over the next four years, Workrise, a US company, will create more than 150 technology jobs in Belfast. The Austin-based company combines building projects with laborers.
Invest Northern Ireland has granted the company about £1 million in support for the 153 new jobs, which will pay much above the private sector average.
