H
alf 1,000,000 jobs had been created in Northern Ireland in 15 years, in accordance with a examine.
Analysis from the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre (UUEPC) of development in Northern Ireland from 2007 to 2021 confirmed how typically companies are in job creation mode.
In that interval, a complete of 67,628 employer companies had been established in Northern Ireland, with the bulk, 64%, working within the service sector.
The report factors to probably the most job development occurring in these youthful companies, with nearly all of jobs occurring within the first 12 months.
It additionally acknowledged that subsequent development episodes had been extra prevalent in newly-created companies.
UU economists counsel that potential coverage interventions ought to take into account each the age and dimension of companies reasonably than solely specializing in small companies.
They additionally report that the timings and consistency of job development amongst employer companies confirmed some steady patterns.
Typically, in these companies that survived as much as 10 years, job creation was a uncommon, one-off occasion and often occurred early within the agency’s life cycle.
Multiple job creation episodes had been linked to bigger companies at beginning, whereas smaller companies typically had no job creation episodes throughout their lifetime.
Speaking on the report, Dr Karen Bonner, principal economist on the EPC , mentioned the report aimed to grasp extra on the method of job creation.
“In Northern Ireland job creation has been a policy lever to help grow the economy but to date we know little about the ‘how’ of firm job creation in terms of when and how often firms generate employment over their lifetime,” she mentioned.
“To this end, this project seeks to understand both the extent of job creation in Northern Ireland since 2007 and the job creation history of businesses.”
Whether companies survived for 3 years or 10 years, a major proportion of them exhibited static job patterns
Dr Bonner mentioned authorities coverage ought to give attention to serving to established companies to create job development.
“Effective interventions could focus on firms with static job patterns over their lifetime, as they represent the most commonly observed pattern,” she mentioned.
“Whether firms survived for three years or 10 years, a significant proportion of them exhibited static job patterns, indicating a lack of significant job creation or loss.
“Programmes supporting job growth could establish entry criteria based on various factors including business characteristics, employment history, and the growth mindset of the owner.”
The report makes use of particular person firm-level data to trace job creation, job retention and job loss over time and identifies how prevalent job creation is amongst new companies.
