BUSINESSES in the Shannon region are creating jobs at a far faster rate than the country as a whole, the chief executive of Shannon Development, Mr Paul Sheane has claimed.
He said industries in the region were creating jobs at six times the national rate. "At a time when the national rate of job creation in this sector increased by 7 per cent," he said, "the rate in the mid west increased by 42 per cent."
Mr Sheane said that, of the 17,600 additional jobs created in industries such as textiles and food during the period 1990-1995, the mid west accounted for almost half the national figure.
Mr Sheane said CSO figures had found that the jobs in tourism related sectors increased during the period from 5,800 to 9,100 in the mid west.
He maintained that the level of job creation in the region was all the more significant considering the regional challenges.
"For instance, 5700 jobs were lost in farming. forestry and fishing in the mid west in that time," he said.
Mr Sheane was speaking at the publication of Shannon Development's results for 1995. The regional development company injected £54 million into various sectors of the local economy. Firms in the region created 1,800 jobs and achieved a net employment gain of 684 jobs.
