Over 5,600 people now employed by Enterprise Ireland client companies in Kilkenny

Enterprise Ireland, the Government agency responsible for developing Irish business globally, unveiled its End of Year Statement for 2023 revealing a 5% increase in jobs in Kilkenny.

Employment in Enterprise Ireland-backed companies in Kilkenny was 5,630 in 2023, with 293 net jobs created in Kilkenny last year. 

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney and Enterprise Ireland announced the creation nationally of 15,530 new jobs by Enterprise Ireland client companies in 2023 at an event in leading life sciences company APC and VLE’s headquarters in Cherrywood in Dublin on January 9. Taking into account job losses last year, the jobs growth translates into a positive net jobs result of 5,011 in a very challenging year for businesses. 68% of the new jobs created in 2023 are outside Dublin. 

Each of Enterprise Ireland’s three main sectoral divisions recorded jobs growth with Food and Sustainability now employing 66,047 people (+3%), Industrial and Life Sciences employing 93,652 (+2%) and Technology & Services employing 65,796 people (+2%).

Strong employment growth was reported in specific sub sectors such as:

Climate, Sustainability & Agritech (7%)
Dairy, Drinks and Food FDI (5%)
Life Sciences (4%) 
High Tech Housing and Construction (3%) 
Digital Technology and Fintech sectors continued to grow at a moderate 2% despite technology industry headwinds, with international education and edtech reporting 5% employment growth.

Commenting on the results, Martin Corkery, Enterprise Ireland’s Regional Director for the South and Southeast said: “Irish export-focused companies are continuing to create quality employment across Ireland, despite a challenging business environment. Employment in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland is now at its highest ever level at over 225,000 people, with over two thirds of the new jobs outside the Dublin region. 

Growth was strong in Kilkenny with employment increasing by 5% in 2023, which represents 293 net new jobs in the region. This is a testament to the hard work of our client companies who are hungry to achieve greater scale and expand their global footprint.” 

“At Enterprise Ireland we are determined to support both the start-up sector and established companies to increase sales and exports in global markets which results in increased employment. Business sentiment among our client companies remains very high and they are continuing to innovate to ensure they are competitive in global markets that remain turbulent.  Enterprise Ireland is here to support those companies on that journey.”