The number of people employed at IDA Ireland-supported multinational companies operating in Ireland fell very slightly this year, amid difficult economic conditions and a contracting tech sector.
16,843 new jobs were added by client firms of the inward investment agency over the course of the year, down 48% from the 32,426 a year earlier, its annual results for 2023 show.
But 17,857 jobs were also lost across the foreign direct investment sector, as multinational companies trimmed their operations in response to the challenges of the global and domestic economy, giving a net loss of 1,014 positions.
This meant that by year end there were just over 300,000 people employed in IDA client companies in Ireland – the second year in a row that the benchmark was reached – although down 0.3% on last year.
That slight dip was entirely accounted for by the information and communications services segment where employment fell 2.9% as companies like Meta, Google, Microsoft and Salesforce downsized.
However, 19,000 new future jobs were promised by clients through the year. Jobs growth was recorded across all other sectors with modern manufacturing up 1.8%, traditional manufacturing growing 0.2% and business, financial and other services up 0.8%.
