Key Market Sectors Reflect Strong Performance and Employment in Ireland

Government agency Enterprise Ireland, which is responsible for developing Irish business globally, has reported the creation of 19,332 new jobs by companies backed by the organisation in 2017. Altogether 209,338 people are now employed in companies supported by the Enterprise Ireland, the highest total employment achieved in the history of the agency. This represents a net increase of 10,309 jobs for 2017, taking account of job losses. Job creation figures were up on 2016, despite the uncertainty that Irish businesses faced in 2017 in the context of Brexit.

Job creation was evenly spread across the country, with every county and region seeing increased employment. Two thirds (64%) of the new jobs created were outside of Dublin. The West, Mid-West and North West saw the largest level of increases at 7% in 2017.

Enterprise Ireland attributes this strong performance by Irish businesses to the continuing growth of an entrepreneurial climate for start-ups, allied to strong jobs growth in the Construction (8% increase), Engineering (8% increase), Lifesciences (8% increase), Digital Technology (6% increase), Electronics (6% increase), Food (4% increase) and ICT sectors (5% increase).

Enterprise Ireland Chief Executive Julie Sinnamon said: “Today’s figures represent another year of strong performance by our client companies who now employ over 209,000 people and are a barometer of the robust health of Irish businesses. Despite the challenge and uncertainty created by Brexit, Irish companies have continued to grow their global exports, supporting strong job creation across all of the regions of Ireland.

“At Enterprise Ireland, our Strategy – Build Scale, Expand Reach 2017-2020 – is focused on transforming the innovation and competitive capabilities of Irish enterprise, to expand the global reach of ambitious Irish companies into diversified export markets and we are pleased with the results of the first year of our new strategy. It is imperative, however, that Irish businesses continue to build on the strength of their 2017 performance and implement robust plans to prepare for the impact of Brexit.”