1. There are plenty of English speaking workers in need of a job. So there won't be any problems recruiting.
 |
| Ireland's unemployment rate (Bloomberg) |
2. And you don't have to pay them much. Particularly in comparison to some other European nations, Irish labor has become quite inexpensive.
 |
| Unit labor costs (Source: OECD, hat tip Kostas Kalevras) |
3. Now if you want to make sure these employees stay with you for a long, long time, you can help them buy homes near their job. After all home prices in Ireland are becoming a great deal cheaper, at least on a relative basis. Makes for a very effective employee retention package.
 |
| Nominal declines in home prices from the peak (Source: GS) |
 |
| Home price appreciation YOY (Source: GS) |
4. You can even help them get a loan, because you know they are not getting it from their local bank.
 |
| Source: Bank of Ireland |
5. Now with cheap and loyal labor, there is nothing stopping you, particularly if you have access to capital. That's because your local competition certainly has no way of getting a loan.
 |
| Loans to non-financial corporations in Ireland from Jan 11 to Jan 12 (€ million) |
6. And don't worry about credit conditions improving any time soon and local competition coming back. With banks owned by the government and credit availability/liquidity tightening, your competition won't stand a chance. It won't be long before you own them.
 |
| Ireland's contribution to the Eurozone's M1 money stock from Jan 11 to Jan 12 (€ million) |
So as long as you don't have to sell your products to anyone locally, Ireland is the place to be for a growing company. And by the way, your corporate tax rate will be way lower than many other places you are considering setting up shop.
SoberLook.com