Over 2,000 vacancies at US firms

Despite the economic downturn US firms operating in Ireland are struggling to fill over 2,000 vacancies, according to new research published today.

The American Chamber of Commerce Ireland's annual Workforce Activation survey of 109 US firms reveals that 90 per cent of companies surveyed were recruiting to recruit suitably skilled employees.

The survey also indicates that 30 per cent of vacancies being advertised are taking longer than three months to fill.

According to the organisation, which marked its 50th anniversary earlier this year, over 800 graduates were hired by affiliated members last year. That figure is expected to rise by 21 per cent to just under 1,000 new hires in 2011.

Chamber president Gerard Kilcommins said the survey showed the multinational sector in Ireland remained strong but warned against possible employment legislation that could impact on labour force flexibility.

Earlier this week data published by the US Department of Commerce in Washington showed that US companies in Ireland now have a total stock of investment of $190 billion.

This is equivalent to five per cent of all US foreign investment worldwide and is more than that of the so-called "BRIC" economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China combined.

Almost 100,000 people are directly employed at over 6000 US firms in Ireland, the chamber said.