Fall in InvestNI promoted jobs

THE number of jobs promoted in Londonderry by Invest NI has fallen substantially over the past five years, dipping from 875 in 2006/7 to 365 in 2010/11.

A recent peak in Invest NI job promotion in Londonderry was experienced in 2007/8 when 994 jobs were supported by the state agency. However, this fell back to 217 in 2008/9 and 265 in 2009/10,

The total number of jobs that investors planned to create over the lifetime of assisted projects in Londonderry between 2006 and 2011 was 2,716.

Investment Minister Arlene Foster outlined the level of jobs promotion in response to an Assembly Question tabled by Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) MLA Jim Allister.

Ms Foster explained: “The geographic location of projects is determined by those businesses which bring forward projects suitable for Invest NI assistance and are based on their specific requirements. It is also not possible to align visits with specific investment. A company may visit any number of times before investing, or indeed choose not to invest.”

She also advised that 545 Londonderry jobs were indirectly supported through the Enterprise Development Programme (EDP) during the same period.

But this also fell over the five years from 125 in 2006/7 to 164 in 2007/8 to 97 in 2008/9 to 74 in 2009/10 to 84 in 2010/11.

The total number of visits by potential foreign investors in Londonderry was 49 over the same time period.