Job Creation and Destruction in Northern Ireland: 1973-1993

Abstract

Job creation and destruction estimates are made for Northern Ireland manufacturing using the ARD database. International comparisons suggest job creation and destruction rates in Northern Ireland were below those elsewhere. Job turnover rates exhibit the standard properties, however, with counter-cyclical job destruction and pro-cyclical job creation. A number of other key results emerge. First, small firms are the only size band for which the net change in employment was positive. Second, job turnover in small firms is less cyclical than that in larger companies. Third, firm contraction and expansion were more important sources of job creation and destruction in Northern Ireland than in the UK as a whole.