The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment issued 2,279 work permits in January, with large employers like EY Ireland, Amazon and Google among the biggest beneficiaries.

More than half of the work permits approved last month were for hospitals, residential facilities, pharmaceutical, health technology and other healthcare companies.

Professional services form EY was the largest importer of work permit staff with 48 work permits.

Amazon (45 across four subsidiaries), Cognizant (33) and Google Ireland (31) led the way for technology firms, and TikTok (19), Microsoft (12), Ericsson (11), and Facebook (10) also featured prominently on the list as tech multinationals resumed hiring.

A total of 443 permits were issued to employees of companies in the IT sector, with 143 issued to people working in financial and insurance activities.

In Association with

Leading the legal and professional services companies hiring nationals from outside the European Economic Area were Grant Thornton (24), Accenture (20) and Deloitte (16).

The largest number of successful applicants for work permits were Indian nationals (931), with more than 100 people each from Pakistan (193), Sudan (174), Philippines (149) and Brazil (117) all issued permits.

Dublin accounted for nearly half of all successful applicants (1,067), with large numbers of non-nationals officially entering the country through Cork (190), Galway (144), Limerick (95), Meath (79), Kildare (53), Louth (52), Donegal, Mayo, Wexford (all 51) and Cavan (50).

A total of 177 applications were refused and 102 were withdrawn, according to the figures.

Work permits are in demand from employers because Irish businesses are growing increasingly concerned about skills shortages.

Skills Shortages

The latest Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) found that 85% of Irish businesses surveyed are optimistic about the coming 12 months, the highest of all 29 economies surveyed for the report, and significantly higher than the EU average of 65%.

However, two-thirds of businesses cited the availability of skilled workers as a barrier to growth – up from the 37% who reported this as a barrier to growth in the first half of 2021.

Similarly, in the competitive labour market at present, more than half (56%) of businesses report the cost of labour as a barrier to growth – more than double the 27% of businesses who reported this as a challenge in the first half of 2021.

Grant Thornton Ireland managing partner Mick McAteer commented: “From a labour perspective, there is a skills shortage globally in a number of sectors that represents a major challenge for businesses in terms of growth, including here in Ireland, and the lengthy visa-processing times and other red-tape hurdles have only exacerbated this issue.

“But with business optimism climbing to a three-year high, and many businesses insulating through new business processes and digital transformation, there is hope for businesses to continue growing in both domestic and international markets over the coming year.”

Unemployment Increase

The CSO has reported that the Covid-19 adjusted unemployment rate rose to 7.8% in January, from a revised 7.4% in December. These figures are an estimate based on the Live Register and Covid-19 related claims.

The main unemployment rate was 5.3% in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, up from a revised 5.2% in December.

Jack Kennedy, economist at global job site Indeed, commented: “The flipside of the positive pandemic news is that the phasing down of the PUP and EWSS supports has returned, meaning businesses will have to stand on their own two feet in an environment that for some may be a more challenging landscape than that faced pre-pandemic, particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors.”

Grant Thornton economist Andrew Webb said that the restrictions on trade over recent weeks contributed to increased unemployment.

Web added: “It is important to try and see beyond inevitable volatility in monthly figures. Looking back over the past year provides encouragement that the labour market is recovering well, with almost 30,000 fewer people unemployed this January compared to last.

“Looking forward, almost half of Irish businesses in Grant Thornton’s survey expect to increase staff numbers in the year ahead. With staff shortages being reported in some sectors, the challenge will be to ensure a sufficient supply of people in the labour market.”

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