Majority of employers plan to recruit

AS much as 65% of professional employers are planning to hire new staff this year, according to a new survey.

Following on from its recent salary monitor — which showed that nearly half of Irish companies are upbeat about their prospects this year, even though only around 20% anticipate increasing salaries — recruitment specialist Morgan McKinley said yesterday that the outlook for staff hiring is good, after 2011 saw a 34% rise in new job vacancies.

“There’s still considerable uncertainty in the marketplace, but many companies — particularly multinationals and export-led firms — are gearing up for a busier 2012. Our research shows that the majority of professional employers have plans to hire over the next 12 months, a positive indicator for the Irish economy,” commented Karen O’Flaherty, Morgan McKinley’s chief operations officer.

The areas of bio-pharmaceuticals, medical devices and IT were where the main job growth was evident in 2011 and that trend is likely to continue this year.

“Without doubt IT was Ireland’s ‘good news’ story for business and jobs growth in 2011. It’s been widely publicised that demand for talented IT professionals often outstrips supply, particularly within the field of software development. We expect this demand to continue in 2012,” Ms O’Flaherty added.

Last year saw total job vacancies of 93,552 — up by 34% on 2010’s total, but still well below the 208,633 jobs recorded in the boom period in 2007. Last month saw nearly 6,500 fewer professional job vacancies than in November, but a near 30% year-on-year increase.

Ms O’Flaherty said: “It’s usual for hiring and job seeker activity to decline in December. Recruitment tapers off during the festive season and, in many cases, companies’ recruitment budgets have been exhausted for the year.”