Some 10 per cent of the 17,000 people who commute from Co Meath to work in Dublin every day say they want to work closer to home, and many are prepared to take a drop in salary for a better quality of life.
The findings are contained in a skills database compiled by Meath County Council.
The council's economic development officer, Frank Fitzmaurice, invited commuters to register their skills on a website, www.workinmeath.ie, which he developed himself.
Mr Fitzmaurice said yesterday he believed the skills of the commuters and their hunger to work closer to where they lived were invaluable in marketing the county to potential investors.
The data was produced by surveying nearly 1,800 commuters who provided confidential personal information.
It has been used by the county council to encourage business to consider Co Meath as a location, and there are strong indications that this is about to happen.
One of the major findings was that 42 per cent of skills were in four key areas: IT/software and financial services/insurance.
"This has gone from being a research exercise to being a marketing tool, and we have a clear message to give to employers and human resource managers in corporate Dublin who might be thinking of moving to a regional location: we have the skills you need in Meath," said Mr Fitzmaurice.
Among those who took part and registered their desire to work in Meath were chief executives, directors, general managers and middle and junior management.
The website received over 255,000 hits between December 2004 and last month.
More than three-quarters of the people who registered with it and took part in the confidential skills survey were aged under 35.
Two-thirds of those surveyed were earning up to €45,000, with the biggest single band between €31,000 and €45,000.
In their comments on commuting, many said they would take a cut in salary to be closer to home and have a better quality of life. This was particularly relevant to those with children.
"I expect a flurry of fresh hits with the launch of our findings.
"I see this as the evidence that the people with the skills needed in the four major areas are here in Meath.
"The roads out of the county are packed by 6.45am, and those people could be working here," Mr Fitzmaurice said.
The report has been presented to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin.