Number of professional vacancies rises

THE number of new professional vacancies has grown for the fourth consecutive month, according to the latest statistics.

A study of the professional jobs market – which monitors vacancies for senior business and administrative professionals – shows a 34% increase, from 4,201 in February 2009, to 5,633 last month.

The monthly increase was 7%, up from 5,282 in January. The highest number of job vacancies since November 2008 was registered in February, reflecting greater confidence in some, but not all, areas of the market.

Last month also saw a 19% increase in the number of professionals entering the jobs market, up from 12,655 in January to 15,060 in February.

According to Brian Murphy, managing director of Premier Group in Ireland, a leading recruitment consultancy firm, the figures show a growing confidence in the jobs market.

“It was pleasing that the overall upward trend in new job opportunities that kicked off in August 2009 has continued to February this year. There was a general pick-up across all industry sectors in February, with a particularly positive increase in the fast moving consumer goods or FMCG market.

“Since the start of the year, there has been a rising demand for temporary and contract staff. Many companies have labour requirements but… the flexibility of hiring temporary staff is currently proving the more attractive option to fill evolving resource gaps.”