Record recruitment pace to continue

THE record pace of recruitment in the first half of the year is set to continue.

That’s according to the latest Bank of Ireland Business Banking Job Index.

The bank said yesterday that more than 126,000 job advertisements were placed in the national daily and Sunday newspapers up to July, slightly ahead of the same period last year.

It predicts recruitment levels to rise further in the second half of the year as demand for labour continued to exceed supply.

Manufacturing recruitment in July was 47% ahead of the same month last year, while the leisure sector also performed well. The public sector saw a 23% hike in vacant jobs in education and a 15% increase in healthcare.

Bank of Ireland Business Banking director Cathal Muckian said: “The considerable increase in manufacturing recruitment is very encouraging, evidenced in part by the latest Central Statistics Office manufacturing output price index.

“This indicates that Irish manufacturing prices fell by almost 12% between 2002 and 2004. This fall was partly in response to increased competition from Asian manufacturing companies. Other key measures of economic health in the manufacturing sector are positive and suggest growth in manufacturing output has strengthened in July and is on the increase, albeit at a modest level.”

Bank of Ireland economist Michael Crowley said the manufacturing increase was “noteworthy” and consistent with evidence pointing to a turnaround in the sector after a difficult period.

But there were negative trends in construction, where recruitment levels were down 25%. The financial sector saw a 10% fall, while the IT and professional sectors fell by 5% and 9% respectively. Retail recruitment also saw its first slowdown in 11 months.

Overall recruitment in July was slightly behind the same month last year, with the total number of jobs advertised down 4%.