New government data: Northern Ireland set to massively benefit with nearly 5,000 new jobs being created in three years

Tens of thousands of new jobs are being created across the UK thanks to billions of pounds of foreign investment, helping the government’s priority to grow the economy and levelling-up across the UK.

New government statistics recently published reveal that over 1,600 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects will create nearly 80,000 jobs across every part of the UK, with Scotland, Wales, Northern England, the Midlands and the South West seeing significant gains.

Across Northern Ireland, scores of new projects are creating thousands of jobs. In 2022/23, 33 FDI projects were landed which are set to create 1,416 jobs.

In just three years, Northern Ireland has seen 94 FDI projects landed, leading to 4,854 new jobs.

Minister for Investment, Lord Johnson, said: “These statistics reflect the sentiment I hear from foreign investors every day: the UK is a great place to invest and a fantastic springboard to start and grow a successful business.

“Today’s figures confirm investors are looking beyond London and the South East as they search for high growth opportunities with highly skilled workforces in areas like Northern Ireland. These investments are also supporting our strongest industries and creating the jobs of the future, from aerospace and car manufacturing to financial services and tech.

"We now look ahead to this autumn’s Northern Ireland Investment Summit and the Global Investment Summit, which will bring together some of the world's biggest players to invest in our most thriving sectors."

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris, explained: “Northern Ireland is a fantastic place to live, work and invest, and it’s great for the local economy that more overseas companies are investing in projects here, creating thousands of jobs.

“The Northern Ireland Investment Summit in September will provide an excellent platform to further showcase local expertise and talent across key growth sectors, encouraging even more transformational investment into Northern Ireland.”

Inward investment is crucial for growing the UK economy, and latest statistics back up other recent reports from PwC and EY that investors are continuing to increase their confidence as well as their investments in some of our key sectors.

The automotive sector has seen 76 new FDI projects in 2022/23, leading to 3,807 new jobs – up from 1,786 two years ago – while aerospace projects will create 3,208 new jobs – up from 1,277.

They are also striving to make the UK a tech and science superpower by 2030, and the latest data confirms they are heading in the right direction. The Life Sciences sector will see 3,546 new jobs from latest FDI projects, while biotech and pharmaceuticals will see 2,089. Collectively over the past three years, both sectors will have seen 15,608 new jobs from FDI projects alone.