More than half of businesses plan to recruit more staff
By Aideen O'Flaherty
OVER 70 per cent of businesses in South Dublin County have taken on staff in the last two years, with more than half planning to take on more staff in the coming year in what has been labelled a “very positive indicator of growth in the county” by South Dublin County Council.
Only 32 per cent of business owners indicated that they had no intention of taking on staff in the coming months.
These were some of the findings in the 2017 Economic Growth Survey, which was carried out by the council last year.
The survey found that the main export market for businesses in South Dublin County is the UK at 76 per cent, however Britain’s exit from Europe has affected 36 per cent of business owners already, and over 50 per cent of those affected believe this impact has been negative.
Overall, the majority of businesses, at almost 60 per cent, stated that they are currently exporting, and their main exports are goods at 46 per cent followed by services at 25 per cent.
Of the 40 per cent who are not currently exporting, 78 per cent have no plans to export with a further 17 per cent saying that they have never considered exporting – meaning there could be potential for exporting in the future.
In terms of local supports that business owners and managers would like to have in order to grow their businesses, 26 per cent would like assistance with marketing their business, while 17 per cent would like to engage in increased networking opportunities.
The majority of the businesses that were surveyed were in the industrial and manufacturing sector at 25 percent, followed by professional services at 19 per cent and retail businesses at 14 per cent. The remaining businesses were across a number of sectors including distribution, construction, and education.
Businesses with a varied workforce were surveyed, with the majority of respondents at 23 per cent employing between two and five employees, closely followed by businesses who employ between six and ten employees at 20 per cent.
TAGS Business
