Job openings fall 4% in July

The number of job opportunities for Irish professionals was down 4% in July, reversing the gains reported in the professional job market in made in June.

The latest Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor registered a 4% fall in the number of new professional job opportunities from June (8,302) to July (7,953).

The amount of jobs available when compared to last year (7,900) remained flat, rising by only 1%.

Karen O’Flaherty, chief operations officer with Morgan McKinley, said the slowdown in job creation could be attributed to seasonal factors.

“The minimal 1% rise in new job opportunities coming onto the market from Jul 2011 to Jul 2012 is indicative of the flat economic market,” said Ms O’Flaherty.

“Newly released jobs decreased by 4% when compared to last month and can be largely attrib-uted to the holiday season and an unsurprising slow down in the pace of hiring.”

Despite there being a slowdown in the number of jobs created, the number of new entrants into the job market has grown hugely.

“With regard to new professional job seekers entering the market, there was an increase of 12% from 10,150 in Jun 2012 to 11,365 in Jul 2012. There was an increase [23%] to the number of professionals seeking new career opportunities during the same month last year [9,210].”

The Morgan McKinley employment monitor only tracks full-time jobs and Ms O’Flaherty said that there has been an increase in contract work that is not being reflected in the measure.

“A trend that is evident in today’s professional jobs market is an increase in temporary and contract opportunities [it should be noted that this report is tracking only permanent jobs],” said Ms O’Flaherty.

“Furthermore, we have noticed that contract lengths are being extended in recent times; this indicates a greater visibility and confidence from hiring managers as they are willing to commit to longer budgeting forecasts.

“This sentiment was also noted in a recent survey carried out by KBC Bank Ireland/Chartered Accountants Ireland which stated that there are indications that employment across the Irish economy may be starting to stabilise.”