Enterprise Ireland supported employment in Mayo tops 5,000

LATEST data from Enterprise Ireland shows that 5,037 people in Mayo are now employed in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland, the government agency responsible for developing Irish business globally.

This is an increase of more than 1,000 people since 2016 when there were 4,032 people in Enterprise Ireland supported companies in the county.

Commenting on the figures, Minister Michael Ring said: “221,895 people are now employed in companies supported by the agency. This is the highest total employment in the 20-year history of the agency.

“65% of total employment by Enterprise Ireland backed companies is now outside of Dublin. This comes at a time when more people are working that ever before - the unemployment rate currently stands at 4.8%.”

He added: “Fine Gael is not being complacent about this progress, however, and we have put in place Future Jobs Ireland, an all-of-government plan to prepare Ireland for the digitalisation of the workforce.

“The government is also continuing to prepare business for Brexit which will pose great challenges to businesses here across many sectors.

“Enterprise Ireland is continuing to work on a one-to-one basis with its exporting clients on Brexit planning. In 2018 and 2019, the agency approved funding of €125m to its most Brexit-exposed clients.”

Minister Ring has also welcomed the publication of Enterprise Ireland’s 2020 Action Plan for Women in Business.

The plan aims to increase levels of women-led businesses and women in strategic management positions to improve diversity.