The number of professional job vacancies available in April increased 7 per cent compared to March, but was down 6 per cent on the same month in 2016, according to Morgan McKinley Ireland.
The recruitment consultancy’s employment monitor report found that there was a reduction of 15 per cent in the number of professionals seeking new roles in April compared to March, while there was a 2 per cent decrease compared to April 2016.
It said this reflected improving economic conditions and the recent drop in Ireland’s unemployment rate to a nine-year low of 6.2 per cent.
"The continuing improvement in economic circumstances is feeding into a buoyant professional services recruitment market," said Morgan McKinley Ireland's director of inward investment Trayc Keevans.
“We are seeing a strong pipeline of interest from abroad as potential inward investment projects seek information and guidance on skills availability in Ireland.”
Ms Keevans said this information-seeking took the form of both “standard” foreign direct investment (FDI) inquiries and potential Brexit-related moves by international companies.
Organic growth
“We are also seeing strong organic growth in the Irish professional jobs market where companies have a positive outlook and are resourcing their requirements accordingly.”
The financial services sector is also in strong recruitment mode, Morgan McKinley said. There has been “intense hiring” in the funds sector in particular, it added.
Employers are also adding to their corporate finance, consulting and risk management teams, spurred on by Brexit. The recruitment firm reported a marked increase in demand for supply chain and logistics staff, as companies prepare for the UK's exit from the European Union.
The introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) next year is also boosting hiring in compliance roles.
In IT, demand is strong to the point that jobseekers are typically “presented with numerous opportunities to choose from”, and many are interviewing with multiple companies at any one time.
The improving economy and jobs market has had a positive impact on the human resources sector where there is good demand for HR professionals to oversee expansions in workforces, Morgan McKinley said.
The competitive market for certain in-demand skills means that there are also “opportunities” for HR professionals who specialise in compensation and benefits that will help companies hang on to their most valuable and hard-to-replace employees.
