Ireland Looks To Recruit American Workers

"Thousands of Americans from diverse backgrounds are flocking to start a new life on the Emerald Isle -- and it desperately needs them. Faced with shortages of skilled, experienced workers in fields such as technology and finance, Ireland has looked to the U.S. to fill the gap."

"Ireland's unemployment rate is 4.3%, compared with an average 9% for the European Union -- and corporate income tax is 12.5%, compared with about 30% in the United Kingdom and 40% in the U.S., according to the Congressional Budget Office. Multinational companies have sprouted in Dublin, lured by the tax incentive and an educated, English-speaking work force."

"Though Ireland has received hundreds of thousands of work-seeking legal immigrants in recent years -- its 2005 migration rate was 13 people per 1,000, nearly four times as high as the U.S.'s -- labor shortages still exist in certain industries. Ireland has a glut of low-skilled workers from parts of Europe with weaker economies, and if an EU national is available to fill a position, it can't take a worker from a nonmember state."

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