Jobs are being lost faster than they were being created despite hundreds of millions of pounds being invested by Northern Ireland's economic development agency during its first three years in operation.
Invest Northern Ireland spent over £400 million (€597 million) supporting economic projects between 2002 and 2005, but overall employment in its client companies dropped by 4,700.
The figures were detailed in a Performance Report covering the first three years after Invest Northern Ireland was created from a group of separate economic agencies.
The net employment losses were despite thousands of jobs being created with Invest NI financial assistance over the period.
Invest NI does not measure its performance purely on jobs and puts great store on the expansion of exports by its client companies and the level of innovation in products or processes achieved.
The economic agency was quick to say the drop in employment in its client companies was down to the huge falloff in employment of around 50 per cent in the manufacturing sector - especially textiles - over the three years.
A spokesman said similar falls were recorded by Enterprise Ireland in the Republic and agencies like themselves in other parts of the Britain.
PA