Look at Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Assembly was established as part of the Belfast Agreement and meets in Parliament Buildings. The Assembly was the prime source of authority for all devolved responsibilities and had full legislative and executive authority. It was suspended on 14 October 2002. Although elections to the Assembly have been held since, the Secretary of State at Westminster has assumed responsibility for the direction of the Northern Ireland departments.

Less than 5 per cent of the workforce is unemployed (37,000 people), a historic high; a decrease of 3,000 in the last year and equal to the UK average. Trends show a total of nearly 700,000 jobs with a reduction in manufacturing jobs despite a 4 per cent increase in output, a small increase in service-sector employment and a boom in construction.

Northern Ireland is essentially a small-business economy, with 97 per cent of businesses employing fewer than 50 employees and 85 per cent of that 97 per cent employing fewer than 10. This adds up to the majority of the workforce in Northern Ireland. Employers continue to predict optimistic hiring intentions: 25 per cent of employers are planning to hire staff in the next quarter while only 2 per cent expect cutbacks.

The outlook for 2005 forecasts growth to remain at a healthy level, albeit lower than in 2004, with gross value added (GVA) growing by 28 per cent over five years and at 6 per cent a year more recently. However, the economic activity rate currently stands at 72.1 per cent against a UK rate of 78.8 per cent. Successful sectors include electrical and optical equipment; food, drink and tobacco; and transport equipment.

Tourism in 2004, showed an increase of 6 per cent in total visits to more than 2 million, a 14 per cent increase in holiday visits and a 5 per cent real increase in tourism revenue.

The population of Northern Ireland is 1.685 million – 48.7 per cent male and 51.3 per cent female. It constitutes 2.87 per cent of the total UK population. The religious make-up is 43.7 per cent from a Catholic background and 53.1 per cent from a Protestant background. Those with a background of another religion or philosophy totalled 0.4 per cent, while those with no religious background made up 2.7 per cent. The majority of householders own their own home; 29.4 per cent outright, while 39.4 per cent have a mortgage or loan.

Opportunities and skills shortages

The Bridge to Employment and New Deal schemes run by the Department for Employment and Learning continue to organise skills training programmes to assist employers to find suitable employees. There is still a shortage of LGV drivers and diesel fitters. Call centres continue to recruit.

Opportunities exist in construction, with an overall shortage in most industry skills and a government determination that only qualified people will be allowed to work on-site in future contributing to the problem for employers. Retail and all service sectors are also recruiting, although some demand can be seasonal and some individuals may move between employers within the same sector. There are also jobs available in public services, hospitality and catering, nursing and teaching. However, salary levels remain uncompetitive, and shortfalls in these areas are expected to continue.

Employer news

A £1.57 billion regional strategic transport network plan will shape transport systems over the next 10 years, working towards a modern transportation system. Proposals include enhanced public transport infrastructure, improved rail and bus services, new and improved park and ride/share facilities, as well as enhanced walking and cycling provision, all of which will offer employment opportunities.

It identifies more than £500 million-worth of strategic road improvements that would see enhanced access to regional gateways (international ports and airports) and cross-border links from the network.

Recruitment for the new Police Service of Northern Ireland is being managed and delivered by an independent partnership of professional firms. It is offering both full-time and part-time roles through active recruitment campaigns. The authorities are determined to ensure that the new force cannot be accused of bias, by recruiting from both the loyalist and republican communities. However, there are still problems with the perceptions of the communities, which are hindering the process. The Fire Service continues to recruit.

Salaries

A rough guide to salaries in the region is given below. This is inevitably very general and there will be variations between industries and also in various parts of Northern Ireland.

Manual £10,000 to £15,000

Semi-skilled £14,000 to £20,000

Skilled and supervisory £20,000 to £28,000

Managerial £25,000 to £35,000

Executive £35,000 to £45,000 and upwards

House price guide

The following prices are a rough guide only to property prices and are liable to overnight change as financial factors in the country as well as in the region affect housing.

Location City Town Country

2-bed flat £50,000 £45,000 £35,000

2-bed terrace £35,000 £50,000 £55,000

3-bed semi £75,000 70,000 £70,000

4-bed detached £150,000 £135,000 £105,000