A NEW multi-million pound contract is to create 170 jobs in Ballymena and Derry/Londonderry.
The jobs come as a result of the Department for Communities securing a £8million contract from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to deliver services to claimants in Great Britain.
The Ballymena office will get the majority of the jobs with 150 located there, and the remaining 20 jobs will go to the Lisahally Service Centre which currently already provides services to DWP.
While a number of the posts will be filled in the first instance through internal NICS redeployment, it is expected a total of 150 posts will be filled through external recruitment and recruitment agencies.
The Communities Minister, Paul Givan made the announcement during a visit to DWP headquarters in London.
Minister Givan said: “This new contract is the second to be secured by my department this year on behalf of DWP and underscores their confidence in the quality skills and service our staff in Northern Ireland consistently deliver. Providing services to Great Britain on behalf of DWP is now a core part of my department’s business.
I am confident the new contract will provide excellent opportunities at the sites in Ballymena and Londonderry.”
Meanwhile, the Economy Minister, Simon Hamilton has welcomed a decrease in unemployment figures.
The recently released figures for the period August – October 2016 show that the Northern Ireland Labour Force Survey unemployment rate was 5.7% – a decrease of 0.5 percentage points over the year.
More figures for November 2016 show that the number of claimants in receipt of unemployment related benefits stood at 33,600, a decrease of 500 over the month. There has been a fall of 5,600 in the unemployment claimant figures over the last 12 months.
Commenting on the figures, Minister Hamilton said: “The figures published today contain some positive messages across a range of key labour market indicators. In particular, following reductions in unemployment over the medium term, I welcome that employee jobs are now broadly back to their previous peak in 2008 alongside the continued reduction in the economic inactivity rates.
“The Northern Ireland unemployment rate (5.7%) continues to compare very favourably to the September 2016 rate for the European Union (8.5%) and for the Republic of Ireland (7.9%).”
The Minister said: “It is important that local businesses continue to develop opportunities through research and development, seeking new markets and promoting inward investment.”