Labour catchment trends in Leitrim: Dramatic changes revealed

A new report carried out by the Western Development Commission (WDC) has found the Carrick-on-Shannon labour catchment is the tenth largest labour catchment in the Western Region with over 6,600 workers living there.

The town labour catchment is the area from which a town draws most of its workforce, making it a very useful measure of labour supply.

The report shows that the number of people living in Carrick-on-Shannon’s catchment area is much higher than in the town itself - about 3.2 times more, showing the large labour supply available to the town.

Since 2016, the geographical size of the Carrick-on-Shannon labour catchment has contracted, mostly to the southeast and southwest of Leitrim. 

While the size of the labour catchment has contracted, Carrick-on-Shannon remains the most important employment centre in the catchment.

A reason for the decrease of the Carrick-on-Shannon labour catchment is the growth of nearby labour catchment areas since 2016.

The Boyle labour catchment has grown considerably while there are new labour catchments; Ballinamore and Mohill to the east of Carrick-on-Shannon.

“Smaller centres and rural areas are very important employment centres and this is evident across county Leitrim,” said Deirdre Frost, Policy Analyst at WDC.

“The Carrick-on-Shannon labour catchment remains significant but there has been growth in adjacent labour catchments such as Boyle. 

“There are also new labour catchments of Ballinamore and Mohill,” she added.

Of those living in the Carrick-on-Shannon labour catchment, 29.5 percent work in the town while the other 70.5 percent work outside the town in places such as Drumshanbo, Sligo, Longford and Dublin.

The age profile of the Carrick-on-Shannon labour catchment is one of the oldest of the seven labour catchments reviewed, with 13.9 percent aged under 30 years, compared to a national average of 17.6 percent.

The report also found that those at work and residing in the Carrick-on-Shannon labour catchment have a much higher level of education than before. 

In 2016, 51.9 percent had a third level education, whereas in 2022 the rate is 62.2 percent. This is close to the State figure of 63.1 percent. 

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Those employed outside Carrick-on-Shannon town have a higher rate of third level attainment (63.7 percent) compared with those working in the town (59.6 percent).

In Carrick-on-Shannon, women make up a larger portion of the workforce than men, with 57.6 percent of those employed in the town being women.

The single largest employer in Carrick-on-Shannon is the ‘Education, Health Care and Social Work’ sector, and accounts for 23.9 percent. This is marginally higher than the State average of 23.8 percent.

The ‘Wholesale, Retail and Commerce’ sector is the second most important employer with a rate of 22.7 percent and again very similar to the State average of 22.6 percent.

Both the ‘ICT and Professional Services’ (15.5 percent) and the ‘Manufacturing Industries’ (14.9 percent) are also important sectors. 

As with other labour catchments, the ‘ICT and Professional Services’ proportional share is much lower than the State average of 23 percent.

“This is very valuable information as it provides robust analysis of travel to work patterns in centres such as Carrick-on-Shannon and other more rural centres,” said Allan Mulrooney, CEO of WDC.

“It provides detailed data which will inform decisions on commuting and employment patterns and enterprise location.

“Comparing these data with the original WDC analysis in the intercensal periods, 2016 and 2006, provides insights into trends. 

“It will be of particular value to policy-makers in the context of the revision of the National Planning Framework and the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies and County Development,” Mr Mulrooney concluded.

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