The Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor for January 2013 shows that recruitment activity in Ireland this year has started on a positive note, thanks to improved economic sentiment.
Figures from the report, which tracks the Irish professional jobs market, show increased availability of jobs in the first month of 2013. Specifically, the number of new professional jobs on the market rose from 6,861 in December 2012 to 9,730 in January 2013, representing an increase of 42pc.
Though the rising figures are typical of a seasonal drop-off in the last month of the year, the year-on-year comparison also shows an increase of 4pc.
“A rise in professional vacancies compared to the same time last year, though modest […] is still welcome and in line with a more upbeat sentiment than January 2012,” said Karen O’Flaherty, chief operations officer of Morgan McKinley, who is seeing some sectors beginning to invest again in pre-recession growth divisions, such as human resources, research and development, and sales and marketing.
O’Flaherty predicts that niche hiring areas, such as risk, compliance and regulation, will increase throughout the year.
“Senior risk advisory professionals within financial services were in high demand this month – this echoes the London financial services market and is a result of regulatory pressures that institutions are facing,” she said. “We expect that with the passing of the Personal Insolvency Bill 2012, there will also be a demand for professionals with expertise in this specialisation.”
As far as the number of professionals entering the jobs market, this figure rose by 62pc from 6,000 in December 2012 to 9,735 in January 2013. Again, this can be credited to a seasonal uplift in that people typically consider a change in career or a fresh start in January, though the number has dropped 13pc from 11,225 in January 2012.
“Although not included in our data, we also expect more contract and/or fixed-term job opportunities to be offered within the professional hiring market,” added O’Flaherty. “This is a trend that has continued over the last 24 months and one which is unlikely to change as employers commit to less permanent hiring and professionals become more open and flexible/considerate to the changing dynamic and uncertain business environment that organisations face.”
