Foreign firms create 66,000 UK jobs
More than 66,000 jobs have been created in the UK through investments from foreign businesses in the past year, official figures show.
The 1,773 investment projects helped create 66,390 jobs, including 5,374 from 122 projects in Scotland, according to the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) annual investment figures for 2013/14.
The announcement was made ahead of this week’s Commonwealth Games Business Conference in Glasgow, which hopes to drum up further trade and interest from business and political leaders.
Prime Minister David Cameron believes the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, which also begin this week, will be another “fantastic platform” to help continue investment growth. The UKTI records that more than 220,000 jobs have been created from 6,172 inward investment projects since 2010.
The United States, Japan, France, Germany, Canada, China, India, Italy, Australia and Ireland were the top countries to invest in the UK in the past year. New investments, expansions and mergers and acquisitions were the main types of projects.
The USA led the way with 501 projects in 2013/2014, ahead of Japan with 116, France with 110 and Germany with 102, while Canada backed 89 projects ahead of China on 88, India 74, Italy 70, Australia 69 and Ireland 55.
The report shows that the benefits are spread throughout the UK with England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London all recording increases in the number of investment projects landing and jobs created.
Up to 132 jobs were created or safeguarded by the individual investments made in Wales. The UKTI found that each investment in Scotland could be linked to 87 jobs or to 77 jobs in Northern Ireland.
Projects based in London created or safeguarded around 44 jobs per project and there were 840 projects in England, not including London.
Trade Minister Lord Livingston described it as “an exceptional year” for foreign investment, with record project numbers creating the highest number of new UK jobs since the 71,488 jobs recorded in 2001.
