Jobs at small firms rise by one-third

THE number of jobs posted by small firms has surged by one-third since the start of the year.

This is according to jobsearch.ie, which has seen a steady increase in jobs posted by small business owners.

Advertised trade jobs as well as jobs in transport, manufacturing and training have seen increases of more than 70%, while the amount of IT jobs being posted on a weekly basis has doubled since January.

The website’s founder Jim Murray said: “This is in no way reflective of any increase in our general marketing, so we can only surmise that these particular areas of the economy are seeing more activity.”

He said that his company, which has been trading since 2004 has seen the “ups and downs and the downs and the downs”.

“For a period between early and mid-2009 there were practically no jobs being posted to the site. It was as if everything just froze,” Mr Murray said.

“We are now seeing between 30 and 50 new clients — mostly small or medium businesses — posting jobs to Jobsearch.ie each week.”

Meanwhile, jobseekers have been invited to a job and education opportunities event which will highlight opportunities in the software sector.

The event takes place next Wednesday, August 31, at the National College of Ireland and will feature companies that are recruiting.