THE NUMBER of people in work in Northern Ireland has risen to a record 790,000 according to the latest labour market report.
Despite the continuing slowdown in the North's economy latest statistics show the unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.1 per cent for the period April to June 2008.
This means an estimated 3,000 people in Northern Ireland found employment over the quarter - which represents a rise of some 2,000 people in work compared to corresponding figures for a year ago.
The latest rate for Northern Ireland is below the UK average of 5.4 per cent and the European Union rate for May of 6.8 per cent.
Although the number of people in work in the North is increasing, the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits is also growing.
The unadjusted claimant count in Northern Ireland at July 2008 was 27,400 people - a rise of 8 per cent or 2,040 people over the previous month.
The North's Economy Minister Arlene Foster said the statistics show that unemployment in the North remains low which she says is encouraging given the well publicised slowdown in the world economy.
But questions have been raised about whether the latest official government jobless figures fully represent what is happening in the labour market.
In the 12 months to July 2008 there were 1,644 confirmed redundancies - a decrease of 32 per cent compared to the same period a year ago.
There were 121 confirmed redundancies during the calendar month of July and only 101 during the previous month of June. This is at a time when an increasing number of firms across the North have been laying off staff due to the economic slowdown.
The latest Ulster Bank Purchasing Managers Index shows that business activity, new orders, backlog of work and employment levels all fell at a record rate in July.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade Investment also notes in the latest labour market report that there have been 1,423 outstanding redundancies notified that have yet to take place.
According to one of the North's leading economists the construction industry may hold the key to explaining why some of the figures appear to not add up.
Richard Ramsey, Northern Ireland economist with Ulster Bank says although official employment figures have reported a fall in construction they mask the true picture because almost half of Northern Ireland's construction workforce is self-employed.
"The latest claimant count figures highlight that the recent rise in the number of individuals claiming unemployment benefit is largely a male phenomenon. For example the last three months has witnessed a rise with over 80 per cent (1,700) of the increase accounted by for males.
"This suggests that male dominated industries such as construction are suffering more than other sectors."
