An Economic and Spatial Plan for Limerick Appendices

Limerick 2030 An Economic and Spatial Plan for Limerick
In 2011 the proportion of the Mid-West workforce employed in Manufacturing had fallen to 14%,
whilst the proportion of employment in construction had plummeted to 5%. Therefore the proportion
of the workforce in vulnerable sectors in 2011 totalled 19%. Industries that had increased their
proportion of total employment between 2006 and 2011 included the Public Sector (+5%), Business
Services (+1%) and Wholesale & Retail (+1%).
Table 5 below shows the current sector mix in the City, County and Mid-West compared to the State
as a whole. Clearly, construction and manufacturing still have an above average dominance within
the Mid-West economy. Industries that are less dominant than at the national level include wholesale
& retail, business services and the public sector.
The City is in contrast to the Region and has an employment structure that is more similar to the
State, with a higher proportion of employment in business services and the private sector, although
the public sector is still the dominant employer. Away from the public sector, the majority of
employment in the City is in wholesale & retail (18%), business services (13%) and manufacturing
(12%). The City also has a higher than average proportion of employment in restaurants &
accommodation and transport & communication. In 2011, 15% of employment in the City was in
vulnerable sectors compared to 21% at the County level, 28% at the Regional level and 16% at the
State level.
Table 5: Employment Structure by Geography - 2011
Sector City County Mid-West State
Agriculture, Mining & Utilities 1% 9% 8% 6%
Manufacturing 12% 15% 17% 11%
Construction 3% 6% 11% 5%
Wholesale & Retail 18% 14% 13% 15%
Restaurants & Accommodation 9% 5% 5% 6%
Transport & Communication 7% 5% 6% 5%
Business Services 13% 10% 10% 15%
Public Sector 24% 31% 21% 31%
Other/Not Stated 12% 8% 9% 10%
Total 100% 100% 100% 100%
Source: Census 2011
Across all sectors of the City economy, with the exception of education, employment has declined
in real terms. The aggregate fall in employment between 2006 and 2011 was 5,479, a proportional
decline of almost 23%.
The City has experienced significant structural adjustment since 2006. Levels of employment in
manufacturing (-2,522) and construction (-1,061) have fallen dramatically and in 2011 made up a
much smaller proportion of total employment than in 2006. Conversely the proportions of
employment in the public sector, wholesale & retail and restaurants & accommodation have
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