Unemployment in Northern Ireland has broken through the symbolic 50,000 mark after a rise of 1,500 in the claimant count, according to Government figures released today.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits stood at 51,000 in July, up 23,900 (88.2%) on the year.

The rise was the equal smallest in the last 11 months. However, a recent run of planned redundancy announcements by companies will ensure more people join the dole queues in the weeks ahead.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate measured by the Labour Force Survey was 6.7% for the period April to June - up from the 6.1% in the previous quarter and well ahead of the 4.2% recorded a year ago.

However, the province's unemployment rate remains well below the UK average - 7.8% - and was the fourth lowest of the UK regions. It was also lower than the European Union level of 8.9% and the 11.7% in the Irish Republican.

The estimated number of people in employment was 744,000 - a fall of 1.6% over the last quarter and 5.6% over the year.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: "Most economies in the developed world have been hit by the global recession, with the fall-out from the credit crisis leading to a decline in both consumer and investor confidence.

"Northern Ireland has not been immune to these conditions and rising levels of unemployment have become an inevitable consequence of the current economic climate.

"The fact that the Northern Ireland unemployment rate compares favourably to the UK and European averages will provide little comfort to those currently out of work."

The minister said her department remained committed to helping businesses through the difficult times. Since the introduction of the £15 million Short Term Aid Scheme in June some 38 companies have applied for assistance and more than £1.1 million of support has already been offered by Invest NI.

It was designed to help eligible businesses cope with short-term financial difficulties caused by the economic downturn, said Mrs Foster.

"It is imperative that Northern Ireland businesses hold on to their key skilled employees, so that they will be able to take advantage of improved economic conditions when they arrive."

The minister said the Executive would continue to look at ways of providing effective assistance to the private sector and she would shortly be receiving the report of the Independent Review of Economic Policy.

"The report and its recommendations will help to ensure that policies and programmes relating to the economy, and in particular those of my department, are best targeted to achieving our objectives of improving productivity and increasing employment."

The unemployment figures were released as Stormont Finance Minister Sammy Wilson met a delegation of business leaders from the Institute of Directors to discuss the current state of the economy.

The minister said that, with the further downturn in economic conditions and an uncertain outlook for UK public finances, he had taken up his new office in what were very challenging times for the local business and public sector.

"With such a backdrop, I am keen to meet with key stakeholders, such as the Institute of Directors, to listen to their concerns and explore how the Executive can move to support local businesses - particularly small and medium-sized enterprises - through the current downturn.

"Today's meeting gave me a valuable insight into the challenges being faced by businesses across Northern Ireland and also provided a flavour of the types of things we can do to help alleviate these challenges."

Looking to the future, he said one of the best ways of providing support for local business was by ensuring maximum use of the resources available to Northern Ireland government departments.

"In an increasingly constrained financial environment, we must strive to use the resources we have to maximum effect, seeking out opportunities to work smarter and collaboratively, increasing our efficiency and delivering public services as effectively as possible," he said.

And he said that, while short-term help was important, long-term goals must be kept in mind.

"We will want to ensure that our local firms emerge from the recession well-positioned, with improved skills, productivity and competitiveness."

Joanne Stuart, chairwoman of the IOD Northern Ireland divisions, said she welcomed the opportunity to meet and discuss challenges faced by businesses with the minister.

"The Programme for Government has placed the economy as the top priority for the Executive, and the Department of Finance and Personnel has a key part to play in ensuring that all budget decisions meet this fundamental criteria.

"Businesses are continuing to face challenges with cash flow and accessing credit, and with the minister's role as chair of the Banking, Finance and Lending sub-group of the Cross Sector Advisory Forum, we have reiterated the need to support businesses to ensure that viable businesses do not fail," she said.

Trade union Unite called on the Executive to initiate a programme of public works to help cut the jobless total.

Regional secretary of Ireland Jimmy Kelly said the programme should be aimed at the long-term unemployed.

"Unite believes this programme could create thousands of temporary jobs in one of the most deprived areas of Britain.

"The new jobs should be aimed at those who are finding it particularly hard to find work during the recession, such as the long-term jobless and young people," he said.

Jobs, he said, should be created in areas of value to the community - such as transport, childcare, sport, and energy saving, e.g. home insulation.

"New work schemes have proved successful in the past and Stormont needs to do all it can to reduce the awful impact of the recession and ensure that Northern Ireland is poised to make the most of opportunities for recovery," said Mr Kelly.

SDLP employment spokesman Pat Ramsey said the Executive should be doing more to help businesses which are shedding jobs.

"We may have limited powers over the economy but we are not powerless and we are not doing all that could be done," he said.

The Executive could intervene when companies got into trouble as governments in Scotland and elsewhere were doing, he said.

"With strong leadership our departments could get together to protect the jobs we have and promote new ones more effectively, starting with the construction industry."