The number of jobs supported by the State's industrial development agencies fell by 7,500 last year to 297,000, it was revealed yesterday.
Forfas, the industrial and development advisory board, reported yesterday that overall employment came to 1.82 million in the Republic in 2003, an increase of 26,000.
"This was a particularly strong performance given the fact that most developed countries experienced falls in employment during the same period," the agency said in an end-of-year statement.
However, the statement revealed that job numbers in companies supported by State agencies stood at 297,000 at the year's end. This was a fall of 7,500, or more than 2 per cent, on 2002.
The State agencies in question, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Úadarás na Gaeltachta and Shannon Development are responsible for supporting both home-grown and multi-national industry.
Forfas said 2003 was the third consecutive year where there had been a net decrease in agency-supported companies. "This resulted in 19,000 less jobs in manufacturing and internationally traded services compared to the peak of 316,500 in 2000." "However, employment in agency-supported companies is still one third higher than it was a decade ago, when it stood at 224,000."
Manufacturing accounted for all of the net decrease in employment in 2003, with 21,500 jobs lost compared to 14,000 created. The internationally traded services sector remained stable with the same number of jobs created as lost, 8,500. Textiles and paper and printing suffered 1,000 losses each.
Forfas singled out three key reasons for the decline in agency-supported jobs: slow demand from our major trading partners, increasing competition for investment from Asia and eastern Europe, and the increasing cost of doing business in Ireland relative to other countries.
During the year, Forfas published a consumer price report showing that the Republic had joined Finland as the most expensive euro-zone state.
In the autumn, a report from the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) ranked the State the fourth most expensive of 16 for insurance, third costliest of 10 for landfill, and third most expensive of nine for industrial electricity.
The body's report warned yesterday that intensifying competition from developing countries means the Republic can no longer compete on cost.
Forfas said its priorities for this year would include sustaining public investment in research and innovation, and maintaining spending on and progress on key infrastructural projects under the National Development Plan.
