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Workers employed by US multinationals in Ireland earn almost twice the average industrial wage and are paid significantly more than their counterparts in other foreign-owned firms.
New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show employees of US firms here earned an average of €59,836 in 2015, which was nearly double the industrial earnings average of €36,519.
It was also higher that those working for UK multinationals based in Ireland, who earned an average of €34,691, or those working for German multinationals, who earned an average of €42,039.
The research also shows US multinationals accounted for €581 billion of the foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ireland, equating to over 70 per cent of the €796 billion total.
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This was more than originally thought as previous surveys tended to examine FDI on a “country of origin” basis.
However, this time the CSO examined the controlling parent of the firms involved to get a better picture of the true origin of the investment.
Unsurprisingly, US FDI in Ireland dwarfs that from any other country, reflecting the long-standing ties between the two countries. Foreign investment from the UK amounted to just €19 billion, while the stock of investment from Germany and France was €12 billion and €8 billion respectively.
The employment footprint was less dominated by US firms, which employed 115,964 people here in 2015.
This compared with 80,876 people employed by UK firms, 22,568 by German firms and 13,033 by French firms.
Employment in the multinational sector as a whole rose by 1.5 per cent in 2015.
The figures also revealed Ireland’s heavy reliance on foreign investment from abroad. FDI in Ireland equated to 311 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Internationally, this was eclipsed only by Luxembourg, where the figure was over 400 per cent, but was well ahead of most other countries.
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