Employment
As of November 2022, the national unemployment rate stands at 4.4% which is comparatively low in recent times. Up to date unemployment figures are not available at city level. In the absence of up-to-date unemployment figures, live register data can be used. 2022 Live register figures show that Cork City’s live register figure are at some of the lowest levels in the past 5 years reflecting the strong current state of Cork City’s labour market.
Industry
2020 CSO data revealed that there was a total of 29,708 active enterprises operating in Cork City and County, 92% of these enterprises employed fewer than 10 people, highlighting the fact that Cork City’s economy is underpinned by a strong entrepreneurial and SME sector. Although the SME sector strong, it is the multinational base which drives the majority of economic growth in Cork City and County.
Foreign Direct Investment
Cork has a large multinational base with firms operating across a broad range of sectors, and is home
• 7 of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies • In excess of 60 global technology companies • 15 top global cyber security companies and • 300 ICT related companies.
2021 IDA Ireland figures showed that:
• In 2020 the total number of people employed in the Southwest region's FDI sector stood at 46,009. 95% of these people (43,708) were employed in Cork City and County's FDI sector. This means that Cork's FDI sector is responsible for 95% of FDI employment in the Southwest region.
• These 46,009 people were employed across the following sectors 1. Technology (21%) 2. Biopharma, Services and Food (21%) 3. Medical Technologies (15%) 4. Content, Consumer and Business Services (9%) 5. Engineering, Industrial and Clean Technologies. (7%) 6. International Financial Services (3%)
• All FDI Sectors have been experiencing strong growth over 2011-2020 period in the Southwest region, the two FDI sectors which have experienced the most growth are the Technology and Life Sciences sectors. • The number of jobs in the Technology sector has seen an increase of 99.7% over the 2011-2020 period and jobs in the Life Sciences sector has experienced an increase of 50.58% over the same period. While total direct employment by FDI companies in Cork amounts to 43,856 jobs, it is widely accepted that there is a strong multiplier effect associated with FDI jobs. It is estimated that total employment (direct & indirect) supported by FDI in the wider economy in Cork City and County is just under 79,000 (based on the multiplier effect of 0.8 additional jobs for every FDI job).
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