# Economy and work in Northern Ireland

One of the four nations of the United Kingdom. 1,928,446 people (mid-2025 estimate) in 14,330 square kilometres.

2 layers about economy and work for Northern Ireland, each at the level its publisher released it, with its own date and source.

## People claiming out-of-work benefits

Northern Ireland: **34,155** (August 2026, nation level). Source: ONS via Nomis. Published 15 September 2026.

In Northern Ireland, 34,155 people were claiming out-of-work benefits in August 2026.

[Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/claimants?place=N92000002) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/claimants) · https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/economy#l-claimant-count

## Claimant rate

Northern Ireland: **2.9%** (August 2026, nation level). Source: ONS via Nomis. Published 15 September 2026.

In Northern Ireland, 2.9% of residents aged 16 to 64 were claiming out-of-work benefits in August 2026.
For the UK as a whole, the figure was 3.9%.

- Against United Kingdom: 26% lower (3.9%)
- Against the UK: 26% lower (3.9%)

[Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/claimant-rate?place=N92000002) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/claimant-rate) · [Ranking](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/northern-ireland) · https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/economy#l-claimant-rate

## More on this place

- [Overview](https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland)
- [Housing](https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/housing) (7)
- [Crime](https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/crime) (13)
- [People](https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/people) (16)
- [Deprivation](https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/deprivation) (2)
- [Health](https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/health) (2)
- [Environment](https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/environment) (4)
- [Connectivity](https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/connectivity) (4)
- [Elections](https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/elections) (5)
- [Local services](https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/services) (1)
- [Sources](https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/sources) (12)

The same figures as JSON: https://openindex.co.uk/v1/places/N92000002/data?family=economy

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/economy, or to one figure with its anchor, https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/economy#l-claimant-count.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.9. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/northern-ireland/economy