EI Employment growth increases 5% in North East
Last year €61.6m in funding was approved nationally for 341 Covid-19 impacted companies in 2021.
Employment growth increased 5% in the North East in 2021 for companies supported by Enterprise Ireland.
The figure was confirmed by Fine Gael Senator Joe O'Reilly who welcomed a year of record jobs growth for businesses connected to markets all over the world.
Last year €61.6m in funding was approved nationally for 341 Covid-19 impacted companies in 2021. Yet employment increased across all economic sectors, with particularly strong jobs growth reported in Life Sciences (14%), Business Services (12%) and Digital Technology (10%).
Net jobs created in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland increased by 11,911 in 2021, the highest jobs gain in a single year.
“Employment growth under Fine Gael in government has consistently prioritised regional success, and these figures today show that 68% of new jobs were created outside of Dublin,” said Sen O'Reilly.
“I want to see Cavan and the North East continue to benefit from employment growth and a new Enterprise Ireland plan will be key to that. The new three-year strategy for Irish business has an ambition to create 45,000 new jobs by 2024 and increase exports to €30bn.
“Enterprise Ireland are very clear that the new strategy will support the Government’s National Economic Plan which has a strong focus on creating more and better jobs, and in ensuring that job creation occurs throughout the country.”
He further hoped that Local Enterprise Offices will play a critical role in buisness development in counties across the region, ensuring a flexible service to help companies recover from the effects of the pandemic.
“The focus now is on restoring the jobs lost in the pandemic and then grow employment beyond pre-pandemic levels. The Tánaiste has confirmed that as part of the Government’s ambitious vision for the future of our economy, there is a plan to bring job opportunities and growth to all parts of Ireland increasing total employment to a record high of 2.5 million by 2024”, Senator O’Reilly concluded.