Job announcements are always welcomed.
But I think we should review whether they are always a good idea.
Amazon will be employing 500 IT people, mainly in Dublin.
But is there a shortage of IT jobs in Dublin? I assume not. I think that there is a shortage of IT people to fill the jobs.
So many of these employees will come from abroad. Where will they live? No problem there, as their high salaries will allow them to push up the rents in Dublin.
So how do ordinary citizens benefit? There will be more jobs providing services to Amazon.
But where will these people live?
Would 500 unskilled jobs in Ballymun be more welcome?
Brendan
Hello Mr. Burgess,
Any job that results in a positive contribution to the economy is welcome. Each person employed results in more tax being paid into the State, more cash being circulated around the economy, perhaps a reduction on the amount the State pays out in Social Welfare etc.
The housing problem is not of Amazon's making and if anything, the risk that a lack of suitable and affordable housing might some day be the cause of an employer not creating more jobs in Ireland (but creating them in another country instead), is just another important reason to sort out the housing shortage immediately.
The shortage of skilled and experienced IT staff in Ireland will sort itself out, through a mix of more people electing to study and graduate from IT related disciplines, along with immigration.
You ask how the ordinary citizen will benefit, well they benefit by the positive contribution made to the economy by each job (in terms of tax payments). This income paid into the State helps fund more capital expenditure, improved services, paydown of the national debt, tax breaks etc.
Furthermore, the ordinary citizen benefits indirectly by each job created because whoever takes up that job puts money into the economy also - whether it's to buy a sandwich for lunch each day or whatever else they spend their earnings on. All of this expenditure again pays into the economy, but also helps create or maintain other employment (such as the person making the sandwiches etc).
While 500 unskilled jobs in Ballymun might be welcome, they cannot be considered "more welcome" than the jobs announced by Amazon (for example). All jobs should be considered equally welcome. If anything, the fact that the jobs in Amazon are likely to be higher paying jobs than "unskilled jobs" is a positive factor and only supports the arguement for more training, so those currently only able to qualify as "unskilled" might enhance their chances of securing better paid employment in the future, after appropraite training.