Catholics have generally experienced higher rates of unemployment than Protestants in the North over the last 14 years, but the gap between people from the two communities has narrowed significantly. In 1992, 76 per cent of working age Protestants were economically active, compared with 66 per cent of working age Catholics. In 1992, 24 per cent of working age Protestants were economically inactive compared with 34 per cent of working age Catholics, a 10 percentage point difference. A consistently higher proportion of working age Protestants have been in employment compared with their Catholic counterparts between 1992 and 2016. Over the same period there have generally been higher levels of economic activity and lower levels of economic inactivity among Protestants compared with Catholics, although these gaps have also closed.

Source: The Irish Times January 31, 2018 14:44 UTC