Northern Ireland has experienced the largest monthly increase in those claiming unemployment benefit in almost 30 years.
Economy Minister Arlene Foster said the latest official figures showed the global downturn is making an impact.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits increased by 3,100 during November to 34,100. This was the largest monthly increase in 28 years.
The construction industry accounted for approximately one third of the rise.
There was also a large fall in the number of jobs between June and September this year.
These losses have been more widely spread among other sectors.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was almost unchanged at 4.3%, which is below the UK average of 6.0% and compares with 6.6% in the Republic in September.
