Irish companies employ almost as many people in the US as US companies employ in Ireland. Over 500 Irish companies operate in the US in sectors as diverse as agri-food manufacturing, building materials, construction and services. These firms bring investment, good quality jobs and wages to the US. In turn, Ireland provides US firms with a home away from home experience including a strong pro-business environment and access to an European Union (EU) market of over 500 million people.
Irish business in the US - Fast Facts
- There is Irish investment in every state in the US.
- Irish business is the largest investor in the state of Idaho and the 3rd largest investor in Wisconsin.
- The tech and med-tech cluster in Boston is a major attraction for Irish indigenous start-up companies using the US as a platform to internationalize
- Irish business has delivered an annual return on investment of 5.7% between 2012 and 2016.
- A new generation of Irish businesses led by Stripe is establishing companies headquartered in the US.
- Some of the big-name Irish firms in the US include CRH (Oldcastle), Glanbia, Kerry Group, Kingspan, Ornua, Greencore and Smurfit Kappa.
US business in Ireland - Fast Facts
- Over 650 US businesses employ 150,000 people in Ireland today, or 7% of the total workforce.
- Between 2012 and 2016, the annual return on investment in Ireland by US companies averaged 12.7%.
- Estimates show that the activity of US companies in the Irish economy generates almost 3 jobs for every million euro spent in Ireland.
- A range of big-name US companies in Ireland operate across sectors such as bio-pharma, med-tech, ICT and financial services.
- Despite accounting for only 1% of the EU population, Ireland has an 8% share of US R&D expenditure in the EU.
- US business pay almost €7 billion in wages in Ireland.
At Ibec, we believe the Irish business model is built on solid foundations. It is a model of substance which benefits enormously from the mutually beneficial relationship enjoyed by Ireland and the US. We hope you find our report helpful to your understanding of the deep and enduring relationship between our two countries.