The number of professional jobs available in July was 50pc higher than the same month last year, although there was a 4pc monthly drop to 7,900 compared to June this year, according to the latest Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor.
There have been both monthly and yearly drops on the job-seeker side, probably due to the holiday period and cautiousness because of the economy. The number of professionals looking for a new position went down 7pc to 9,210 in July, and year-on-year the drop was 24pc.
“The latest figures show that the levels of new professional jobs in Ireland are stabilising as we progress into the second half of the year. Despite still being a long way off the record job levels seen during 2007, this encouraging trend shows that the professional hiring market is in a much healthier position than it was in July 2010,” said Karen O’Flaherty, chief operations officer, Morgan McKinley.
“Hiring within the technology sector remained strong, with web development projects still driving the majority of demand. In late July, IT service provider BSB announced the creation of 120 jobs to support its business growth in Europe. BSB won’t be the only company expanding its ranks; a recent survey from Mazars predicted that 66pc of technology firms in Ireland have plans to hire new staff in 2011.”
The office support jobs market was also relatively buoyant in July 2011, she added. “A large quantity of roles came onto the market for temporary/holiday cover and for the first time in two years there was a notable increase in demand for marketing professionals in the southeast, a positive indicator for a region particularly hard hit by the economic downturn.”
Heightened demand for accountants
Hiring in the accounting and finance market was consistent across the country in July 2011. “In Dublin, there was heightened demand for recently qualified accountants with backgrounds in accountancy practice, and there was a refreshing pick up in recruitment activity from medium-sized businesses,” O’Flaherty noted.
“Senior finance professionals are increasingly sought after in Limerick and Cork, and the length of time to find accounting and finance jobs is shortening in these areas, particularly for qualified accountants with two to five years’ experience.”
Photo: Karen O’Flaherty, chief operations officer, Morgan McKinley
