ALMOST 9,000 people are currently employed by Enterprise Ireland client companies in Limerick, according to government’s enterprise agency’s end of year report.
8,924 people in Limerick are employed by companies who are clients of Enterprise Ireland, a three per cent increase on the figure for 2022.
15,530 people nationwide were in employment by Enterprise Ireland client companies in 2023, with 68 per cent of those jobs created outside the Dublin region.
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, Simon Coveney, and Enterprise Ireland announced the creation of the 15,530 new jobs nationwide by Enterprise Ireland client companies in 2023 at an event held at the headquarters leading life sciences company APC and VLE’s in Cherrywood in Dublin earlier this month.
Taking into account job losses last year, the growth in employment translates into a positive net result of 5,011 in what Enterprise Ireland described as a “very challenging year for businesses”.
The strongest areas for job growth were climate, sustainability, and agritech, which saw a seven per cent employment increase.
Behind this were the dairy, drinks, and food FDI sectors with a five per cent increase, the life sciences sector with a four per cent increase, and the high tech housing and construction industry, which saw a three per cent increase in employment in 2023.
Digital technology and fintech also continued to grow, albeit more modestly, reporting a two per cent growth, while international education and edtech reporting a five per cent increase.
Jerry Moloney, Enterprise Ireland’s regional director for the Mid West, said that “Irish export-focused companies are continuing to create quality employment across Ireland, despite a challenging business environment”.
“Employment in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland is now at its highest ever level at over 225,000 people, with over two thirds of the new jobs outside the Dublin region,”
Mr Moloney said that “growth was strong in Limerick with employment increasing by 3 per cent in 2023, which represents 275 net new jobs in the region. This is a testament to the hard work of our client companies who are hungry to achieve greater scale and expand their global footprint.”
“At Enterprise Ireland we are determined to support both the start-up sector and established companies to increase sales and exports in global markets which results in increased employment. Business sentiment among our client companies remains very high and they are continuing to innovate to ensure they are competitive in global markets that remain turbulent.”
