More than 250 jobs have been announced in the North as part of multi-million pound investments.
Almost half of them will be in Newry, with the expansion of a financial technology company.
140 jobs are to be generated at First Derivatives, which provides consultancy and software services for financial institutions.
The North's Economy Minister Arlene Foster says this is an extremely positive development at a time when many firms are being affected by the global economic downturn.
First Derivatives, listed on the Dublin and London stock exchanges, is a financial technology company. It provides software and services for banks and similar institutions, helping them to calculate their exposures to debt.
The company already employs 130 people, and will now double in size. The jobs are high quality and command a starting salary of around £25,000. Most of them will be filled by people living in the area, according to the company's chief executive - a local man who founded the company thirteen years ago.
75 new jobs could also be created with a £60m expansion of a hotel in the centre of Belfast. The owners of Ten Square are planning to build 85 new bedrooms, as well as an underground swimming pool and conference facilities. It is expected the project will create 100 jobs in the construction sector.
In another boost for the city, software and services provider ICS Computing is to create 50 posts.
The company has won contracts to provide payroll and pension services to two major health service trusts in Britain. ICS already employs more than 100 people at its Belfast headquarters.
These jobs created will go some way towards offsetting losses announced in recent days.
Almost 40 jobs are to go after a Belfast financial company last night announced it is to close.
ClearCo, which processed cheques for the Bank of Ireland and the AIB group, is blaming the decline in chequebook use for the decision. It will cease operations by the end of the summer, a spokeswoman said. The banks, which jointly established the company seven years ago, have recently transferred their cheque-processing operations to Dublin.
In Portadown, almost 100 jobs are under threat at the Denny factory. Its owners, the Kerry Group, have commenced a formal consultation with employees of the pie- making firm. It is thought production will cease at the end of April, which could result in the loss of up to 94 jobs. Production will be moved to England.
Earlier this week redundancies were announced by the Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland (200 jobs), the forklift truck manufacturer NACCO in Craigavon (100 jobs) and Powerscreen in Dungannon (90 jobs).
