DUBLIN, Aug 12 Reuters U.S. healthcare company Abbott Laboratories plans to hire 1,000 more people in Ireland in one of the biggest job announcements this year in the country39;s booming multinational sector, state investment agency IDA Ireland said on Friday.

Abbott, which is one of the largest multinational employers in Ireland with 5,000 staff, will expand its manufacturing facilities in the north west county of Donegal and build a new plant at the other end of the country in Kilkenny.

Confirming the 450 million investment, Abbott39;s senior vicepresident for diabetes care, Jared Watkin, told the Irish Times that choosing Ireland for its increased production of devices that monitor glucose levels made strategic sense.

Jobs growth among multinationals in Ireland soared to record levels in the first half of 2022, helping push the country39;s unemployment rate to a 21year low of 4.2.

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Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Jason Neely

Source Reuters