§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the recent unemployment figures for Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Butler[pursuant to his reply, 28 February 1984, c. 142]: The total of 122,537 persons claiming unemployment benefit, as at 9 February 1984, represents an increase of 293 over the previous month's figure and brings the rate of unemployment to 22 per cent. of the employed population.
I am glad to say that there are some encouraging signs of improvement in the general economic position in Northern Ireland which should lead to better employment prospects. The industrial development institutions in the Province have been very active in providing advice and support to industry to maintain and develop existing employment opportunities, and I have been most encouraged by the performance in the small business sector, where the local enterprise development unit has had a record year in promoting new jobs.
I regard it as particularly important that this momentum should be maintained to ensure that Northern Ireland benefits fully from recovery in the international economy, which itself will do much to enhance Northern Ireland's prospects of attracting a significant volume of inward investment.