Sean Neeson MLA said: “These figures show that Northern Ireland is still feeling the effects of the global economic downturn.
“We have heard over recent weeks claims that we are over the worse of the downturn, but this rise in the number of people who are unemployed shows that we may see further bad news.
“Many analysts have criticised the Executive for their poor response to the economic downturn and these latest figures further highlights this. The Executive need to bring forward initiatives to combat the job losses and they should look into the potential from the green economy to reduce the level of unemployment.”
ENDS