The State agency, which supports Irish companies operating in the international sector, reported jobs growth among its client companies last year of more than 12,000 – with a net growth in new positions of about 2,900. In 2021, Enterprise Ireland companies added more than 20,300 jobs but the numbers have been slipping since. However, he says many Irish companies have grown their presence in the euro zone and, in particular, the Nordic countries. The bank’s latest forecast puts employment growth for 2026 at 1.5 per cent – a significant cooling compared with recent years. In its final quarterly bulletin of 2025 it noted that employment growth would likely continue to slow over the next couple of years.
