More than 600 Cork jobs created during 2023 by Enterprise Ireland client companies

MORE than 600 jobs were created in Cork by Enterprise Ireland client companies in 2023, bringing to 25,769 the total number employed in the county by firms supported by the agency.

The Government agency, which develops Irish business globally, released the figures in its end-of-year statement. There was an overall increase of 614, equating to 2% of jobs in Cork, out of 15,530 jobs created in Enterprise Ireland-supported businesses across the country during the year.

Taking into account job losses last year, the growth translates into a net jobs gain of 5,011, during what Enterprise Ireland described as a ‘very challenging year’ for business. 68% of the new jobs created in 2023 were outside Dublin.

Enterprise, Trade, and Employment Minister Simon Coveney said it was positive to see the companies supported by the agency recording jobs growth for the third year in succession.

“2023 was a particularly challenging year for exporting Irish businesses, with rising input costs, high interest rates, and international instability among the challenging issues that impacted business performance,” Mr Coveney said.

“Government is determined to help business face these challenges and continue to create high-quality employment across every region in Ireland.”

Enterprise Ireland’s Martin Corkery, the agency’s regional director for the South/South East, said the 2% increase in jobs in Cork in 2023 represented strong growth.

“Irish export-focused companies are continuing to create quality employment across Ireland, despite a challenging business environment,” Mr Corkery said.

Employment in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland is at its highest-ever level, at 225,000 people, with 66% of the new jobs outside the Dublin 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,” Mr Corkery said.

Each of Enterprise Ireland’s three main sectoral divisions recorded jobs growth, with food and sustainability employing 66,047 people (+3%), industrial and life sciences employing 93,652 (+2%), and technology and services employing 65,796 people (+2%).

Strong employment growth was reported in specific sub-sectors, such as: Climate, sustainability and agri-tech (7%); dairy, drinks and food (5%); life sciences (4%); high-tech housing and construction (3%). Digital technology and fintech sectors continued to grow at a moderate 2%, despite technology industry headwinds, with international education and educational technology reporting 5% employment growth.