Local, urban and rural development initiatives have been responsible for creating more than 25,000 full-time jobs over the last four years, the majority of them self-employed positions for those who were previously unemployed.
The figures were compiled by the monitoring committee which oversaw the implementation of the EU-sponsored Programme for Urban and Rural Development.
They show that 10,400 new jobs were created at an average cost of £5,500 with support from county enterprise boards.
About 17,900 previously unemployed people set up their own businesses with support from Area Based Partnership Companies, working in both urban and rural disadvantaged areas.
A further 18,000 people were placed in existing job vacancies while more than 56,000 schoolchildren benefited from education projects such as anti-drugs campaigns.
The programme is a joint initiative between the European Commission and the Government, designed to bring about social and economic development at a local level and to assist local communities in that development.
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