By Business & Finance 
Companies supported by Enterprise Ireland increased net employment by 11,911 in 2021, the highest jobs gain in a single year.
In total, 20,342 new jobs were created by companies supported by Enterprise Ireland, resulting in a net job increase of 11,911 when job losses are taken into account. Total employment by companies supported by Enterprise Ireland in 2021 was 207,894.
Enterprise Ireland has published a new three-year strategy for Irish business with ambition to create 45,000 new jobs by 2024 and increase exports to €30bn.
Employment increased across all economic sectors, with particularly strong jobs growth reported in Life Sciences (14%), Business Services (12%) and Digital Technology (10%).
In 2021, 68% of new jobs recorded by Enterprise Ireland were created outside of Dublin.
€61.6m funding was approved for 341 Covid-19 impacted companies in 2021.
Speaking at the launch today, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, TD, said: “I am particularly pleased that jobs growth occurred in all regions with almost 70% of new jobs growth occurring outside of Dublin and particularly strong growth in the north-west and south-east. This is an extra-ordinary performance and I want to thank the Enterprise Ireland team for their phenomenal work in the year gone by. We are well on our way to meeting our target of having 2.5m people at work in Ireland by 2024.”
Commenting on the launch today Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail Damien English, stated: “The positive job creation results announced today are a testament to the talent, resilience and innovation of businesses operating in Ireland today. In conjunction with the dedicated and determined Enterprise Ireland team, they have tackled head on the impact of the pandemic to support and grow employment opportunities throughout the country. The strong regional performance evident in these results is very welcome news.”
Commenting on the job results Enterprise Ireland CEO, Leo Clancy, said: “Enterprise Ireland has been working with businesses throughout the country to ensure they can quickly recover from the impact of Covid-19 and continue to adapt to the new trading relationship with the UK. It is very important and welcome to see job growth in every key economic sector and every region.”
Other key achievements supporting jobs by Enterprise Ireland in 2021 included 125 new start-up companies supported, and 1,375 overseas contracts secured with Enterprise Ireland assistance and the resumption in September 2021 of physical trade missions.
Today also saw the launch of Enterprise Ireland’s new three-year strategy, entitled ‘Leading In A Changing World’.
The strategy sets out five key strategic ambitions for Irish enterprise and for Enterprise Ireland over the period 2022-2024 and beyond:
- Export-focused Irish enterprises delivering growth across all regions
- Ireland as a world-leading location to start and scale a business
- Irish enterprises achieving competitive advantage through customer-led innovation and digitalisation
- Irish enterprises leading globally on sustainability and achieving climate action targets
- Enterprise Ireland providing world-leading service to the companies it supports.
The strategy sets an ambitious target of creating 45,000 jobs over the next three years, increasing exports by Enterprise Ireland client companies to €30bn.
