Companies supported by Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta reported full and part-time employment of 428,031 in 2017, their highest ever level, accounting for approximately 29% of total business employment in Ireland.
The Annual Employment Survey 2017 also shows there was a 5.2% increase in total employment in agency client companies since 2016, an increase of 21,165 jobs.
There was 223,148 employed in the foreign-owned and 204,883 in Irish-owned agency assisted companies in 2017. Employment in foreign-owned firms increased by 5.3% since 2016, with over 11,200 additional jobs. In Irish-owned firms, employment increased by 5.1%, with an increase of 9,907 jobs since 2016.
Commenting on the results, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD, said:
“I warmly welcome the results of the Annual Employment Survey, which show another year of strong employment performance in companies supported by our enterprise agencies. The Government’s economic and enterprise policies are translating into job creation throughout the country. Nationally we have seen unemployment fall from a high of 16% in 2012 to 5.1% today. There are now more people at work in Ireland than ever before however we can never become complacent. In this regard, I continue to work with my Ministerial colleagues, in partnership with our enterprise agencies, to ensure that the hard-won job gains of recent years are sustained for the long term.”
