The number of people on company payrolls in Northern Ireland increased again last month, despite some signs the broader labour market may be slowing down.
The latest data from HMRC showed 816,604 pay as you earn (PAYE) workers in the north during November, up 0.1% on October – the equivalent of an additional 1,563 jobs over the month.
The PAYE total in November was 10,368 higher (1.2%) higher on the same month last year.
By comparison, the number of payrolled employees across the UK was down 0.6% over the year to November 2025.
HMRC’s data also indicated the average median monthly pay in Northern Ireland increased by 0.5% (£13) between October and November to £2,406.
That represented a 4.7% (£108) rise over the year, just above the UK’s inflation rate of 3.6% for the year to October.
It suggests Northern Ireland continued to close the wage gap with the headline UK monthly average, which rose 2.7% over the year to £2,543 in November.
Despite the continued expansion of the PAYE workforce, the proportion of people claiming unemployment benefits slightly rose in November to 36,800 (3.8% of the workforce), the equivalent of an additional 900 people.
The figures were published on Tuesday as part of the latest monthly labour market report from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra).
Aside from the HMRC and claimant count data, much of the monthly report is based on responses to household surveys, which are used to estimate trends in the wider labour market.
Nisra estimates the official unemployment rate in the north stood at 2.4% for the three months to October.
It put the employment at 70.7% over the same quarter, with the corresponding economic inactivity rate rising to 27.5%.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) put the unemployment rate for the wider UK labour market at 5.1% over the same period.
Nisra has also published its latest quarterly employment survey (QES), which includes data collected from surveying businesses.
It estimated the total number of jobs in Northern Ireland at 838,200 in September 2025, which was 0.3% down on the previous quarter, but 1% up over the year.
Meanwhile, the latest labour market report indicates the Department for the Economy was notified of 230 proposed redundancies in November, with 70 job cuts confirmed.
The figure includes cases where employers are required to notify Stormont when cutting 20 or more jobs.