WHERE THE JOBS ARE -SECTOR
Ireland has come a long way over the 20th centuary, and its jobs have changed reflecting the
dramatic changes to a once dependent and insignificant economy. As recently as fifty years
ago, Ireland's main industry was an agricultural one. It was nothing like today, since it
was mainly one-man operations, and people were content to keep it this way.
The various areas that one should examine can be broken into the following groups:
Agriculture
Nowadays, there is a different story. Agriculture is dying out in Ireland and industries such
as manufacturing and services are taking over. The number of jobs in agriculture fell by 4000
in 1997, while industry employment grew by by 31000 jobs. Government policies are trying to keep
agriculture alive with subsidies and other forms of support, but this is no match for the rewards
from the newer sectors.
Manufacturing
Jobs in manufacturing are on the increase, possibly due to the reduced
corporation tax for firms in these areas. According to a Forfas report, roughly 28,500 jobs were
created in manufacturing, in 1997.The report also concluded that the job losses in this area
were the lowest in 10 years. Once a minority industry, manufacturing accounted for over 60%
of the net permenant jobs created in 1996. It appears that manufacturing is doing better in
Ireland than in other well developed countries. Statistics show that there was a 13.8%
growth in manufacturing in Ireland between 1987 and 1996. This was much higher than other
eurpoean countries.
Services
The rate of growth in employment in all services has been higher in Ireland than in the USA and all other
EU countries. This is possibly due to the lack of service industries until recently. Services
are presently encountering problems--there is not enough labour to fill the job vacancies!!
This is mainly due to growth in industry and employment and , the economy overall.
A recent survey conducted by the department of tourism reveals that, empoyers are struggling to fill
lower technological positions in the service industry. These type of jobs are associated
mainly with the tourist industry. People in the services sector are blaming the multinationals
for the shortage of labour.
Construction
The construction industry is one obvious areas of employment at the moment. You only have to
look around to see this. Construction has increased the number of males participating in the
labour force. Female participation was growing faster than male participation, over the past 10 years.
This is now changing, with increased male participation in the labour fource.
Where Did The Jobs Come From ?
It is no secret that much of the success of the Celtic Tiger is largely attributable to
foreign multinational companies. These firms are largely manufacturing firms, many of
which were attracted to Ireland by the generous tax concessions and benefits of past years.
These came about because of the government policies of the 1970's. Employment in foreign owned
companies now accounts for 5% of total employment in manufacturing.note 2
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