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NI Catholic employment rises

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

The commission’s 13th annual monitoring report, published on Tuesday, was based on a survey of 481,117 people working in the public and private sectors.
Under fair employment legislation in Northern Ireland, all public and private sector companies with 11 or more employees must register with the Equality Commission.
Catholic employees increased by 1.7 percent in 2002, while the number of Protestants fell by 0.06 percent.
Protestants accounted for almost two-thirds of those approaching retirement, the report found. Catholics made up 51 percent of those aged between 16 and 35.
The commission’s survey also found that more than 50 percent of the workforce was female.
Eileen Lavery of the Equality Commission told BBC Radio Ulster that some of the changes were due to a rise in public service sector jobs.
“I think there are a number of factors behind this,” she said.
“Firstly, the economy has been doing quite well, and in particular we have seen the services sector grow again.
She added that public sector employment had also increased.
“Where there is an increase in employment, there is opportunity for change and that opportunity has resulted in a small increase in Catholic participation,” she said.
The Equality Commission was established under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement to oversee equal opportunities in areas including employment.
It was included in the Agreement to address nationalist and republican demands that the equality agenda in Northern Ireland should be examined.

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