Employment Statistics

Services play an important role in the local economy, employing almost 12,000 people within the district (78% of the total employed population excluding agriculture). Almost two thirds of these service sector employees work within the public sector, primarily involved in education, public administration and medical services.

Within the private sector, a high proportion of service sector employees (2,235) work in wholesale and retail businesses. Other key sectors include hotels and restaurants, transport and distribution, property and real estate as well as accountancy and financial services.

Manufacturing plays a lesser role in the local economy than for Northern Ireland as a whole. Some 12% employees (1889 persons) are employed in manufacturing. However, the county of Tyrone (of which Omagh is the county town) has approximately 23% of its employees (11,457) in the manufacturing sector compared to a Northern Ireland average of 18%.

The construction sector in Omagh has experienced a high level of growth in recent years, with employment levels increasing from just 453 in 1993 to almost 2000 by 1999.

Agriculture is another key sector that plays an important role in the economic life of the district. This sector accounts for almost 60% of the 2,600 VAT registered enterprises in the district and provides full and part-time employment for over 4,000 people.

Omagh's agricultural sector is complemented by a strong agri-food sector with a variety of key food processors (Omagh Meats, Strathroy Dairies, Lakeland Dairies (Omagh ) Ltd and Kerry Group (Omagh) Ltd having a presence in the district.

Unemployment within the district remains slightly above the average for Northern Ireland as a whole but the past decade has seen a decrease in unemployment. A key factor in contributing to this fall in unemployment is that the number of available jobs within the district has increased over the past twelve years. Since 1989 Omagh has experienced a 23% increase in the number of available jobs. Much of this job creation has arisen from opportunities within the district's indigenous small and medium sized companies. More recently however, the opening of a new factory in the town by Taiwanese recordable CD manufacturer Rixell, has made a considerable impact on employment levels across the district. Many new jobs are being created in the expanding retail sector.