Monthly tracker shows slow progress for Irish jobs market

10 Apr 2013

The latest figures from Morgan McKinley’s monthly Irish Employment Monitor show a decrease in job opportunities in March compared to the previous month, but overall the number of job vacancies in 2013 is gradually increasing.

From February to March there was a decrease of 12pc in the number of new professional job vacancies in Ireland to 8,125. Year-on-year, the figure is the same with a 12pc decrease compared to March 2012.

But, looking at the quarterly figures, Irish professional job opportunities are up by 14pc in the first quarter of 2013 to 27,032, compared to the previous quarter. Year-on-year the increase is marginal, however, at 0.04pc.

Modest improvement

“Although job opportunities fell in the month of March 2013, looking at the wider picture, a 14pc increase in professional job availability in Q1 2013 compared to Q4 2012 suggests that the hiring market is gradually improving,” said Karen O’Flaherty, chief operations officer at Morgan McKinley.

“Sentiment amongst employers has improved in Q1 of this year compared to Q1 2012 and, though we expect that confidence to continue, it is likely that any rise in job numbers will be modest and hiring forecasts are still likely to be relatively short-term,” she added.

Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor March 2013

Professional job opportunities in Ireland. Source: Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor

O’Flaherty also noted that demand for marketing and social media professionals remains consistently high. “This reflects the growth of the online and e-commerce industry in Ireland and the need for indigenous companies to develop their online profiles and engage with their respective target markets,” she said.

Fewer immigrants entering Irish jobs market

The number of professionals seeking work fell by 3pc from February to March 2013 to 9,500. Year-on-year, this number has dropped by 22pc.

“In terms of the number of professional job seekers entering the market, the decrease of 22pc compared to March 2012 is partially due to fewer professional immigrants entering the Irish jobs market, resulting in candidate shortages in niche areas such as multilingual job roles as we have highlighted previously,” O’Flaherty explained.

Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor March 2013

Professional job seekers in Ireland. Source: Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor

Elaine Burke
By Elaine Burke

Elaine Burke was editor of Silicon Republic until 2023, and is now the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. Elaine joined Silicon Republic in 2011 as a journalist covering gadgets, new media and tech jobs. She later served as managing editor before stepping up as editor in 2019. She comes from a background in publishing and is known for being particularly pernickety when it comes to spelling and grammar – earning her the nickname, Critical Red Pen.

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