The Rescon Group, founded in 1997 and which now has five business units, has become a leading force in the recruitment business in Leinster - and the three other provinces of Ireland. It began with six staff and under managing director Nessa Butler, now has over 30.

Its core business units are Rescon Executive, ResConsulting and Rescon IT Resources.

These divisions deal with all areas of IT in contracting as well as permanent positions and cover everything from software development and e-commerce through to technical support, localisation and quality assurance and testing.

Over the past few years, the group has also expanded by opening Rescon Sales & Marketing, specialising in the financial, e-commerce, Internet and telecommunications fields. Rescon Executive finds all senior level candidates, while Rescon Finance covers jobs in the financial services and accountancy areas.

Nadine Chetty, manager of Rescon Executive, says that while a lot of candidates live in other parts of Leinster and travel to work in Dublin, many are now looking for the opportunity to work nearer home.

People living outside Dublin but working in the city can spend an hour and a half or longer travelling each way on a daily basis.

The time spent in travel is also encouraging what she says is a "huge amount of people looking to telework".

She says that many multinationals will quite often give people the option of teleworking from home one or two days a week. She adds that traffic and time considerations are a primary concern when people are looking for new jobs, and so are house prices. "People are looking for a suitable lifestyle. They want to work, but the quality of family life is equally important."

Ms Chetty concludes by saying that despite the recent high-tech slowdown, some sectors still offer good job opportunities and some regional locations in Leinster still have good chances for job candidates.