Good Jobs in Northern Ireland 2024

Date published: 11 December 2024

This analysis provides the proportion of good jobs in Northern Ireland from 2017 to 2024 with the focus on the following key cohorts; sex, age, work pattern, local government district, industry sector, occupation, and priority sector.

Introduction

This analysis provides the percentage of jobs in Northern Ireland that meet the criteria set by the Department for the Economy (DfE) that classifies a job as a good job. The measure relates to employees aged between 16 and 64 and has been derived from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

The Department for the Economy (DfE) has defined a ‘good job’ as one that offers an employee of working age, that is between the ages of 16 and 64, the following:

• A permanent contract; and
• A non zero-hour contract; and
• Earning the Real Living Wage or more.

The rate of good jobs in Northern Ireland has fallen from the peak in 2022

• The rate of good jobs in Northern Ireland stood at 66.7% in 2024, marking a 4.2 percentage point (pps) drop from its peak in 2022.
• The percentage of good jobs in Northern Ireland showed a steady increase from 2017 to 2022, rising from 63.4% to 70.9%. Over the last two years, the trend reversed with consecutive declines. In 2023, the good jobs rate decreased slightly by 0.4pps, followed in 2024 by a 3.8pps drop in 2024.
• It should be noted that public sector pay awards were made following the ASHE 2024 reference date and are therefore not included in the 2024 results.

Notable differences emerged when analysing key cohorts

• When comparing by Local Government District (LGD), Belfast has the highest proportion of good jobs in Northern Ireland, with nearly three-quarters of all jobs in the city classified as good (73.1%). In contrast, the Causeway Coast and Glens area has the lowest proportion of good jobs, with just over half of jobs meeting the criteria (54.4%). With a good jobs rate of 73.1% and 67.1% respectively, Belfast and Mid Ulster are the only two LGD’s where the good jobs rate exceeds the Northern Ireland average (66.7%).
• When looking at industry sector, the ‘Transport and Communication’ sector has the highest rate of good jobs (83.2%). Three of the nine industries fall below the Northern Ireland average: ‘Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing’ (46.5%), ‘Distribution, Hotels and Restaurants’ (46.7%), and ‘Other Services’ (47.5%).
• People in the 40-49 age group have the highest proportion of good jobs, with 77.7% employed in such positions. Employees under the age of thirty have the lowest proportion of good jobs, 17.0% of those in the 16-21 age group and 59.1% of those in the 22-29 age group.
• ‘Managers, directors, and senior officials’ in Northern Ireland hold the highest proportion of good jobs, with 91.8% of these roles classified as good. ‘Elementary occupations’ have the lowest share of good jobs, with31.7% of positions meeting this standard.
• All reportable sectors within the priority sectors, as outlined by the Department for the Economy (DfE), have a higher rate of good jobs compared to the Northern Ireland average of 66.7%. In 2024, the ‘Financial Services/Fintech’ sector had the highest good job rate at 95.4%, while the ‘Agri-Tech’ sector had the lowest at 74.4%.