Increase in skilled positions available

There has been a small rise in the number of professional jobs available compared to last year, according to the Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor.

Compared to this month last year, there has been a 6% increase in the number of professional job opportunities, while the number of people seeking professional employment has fallen by a quarter.

While compared to last year, the figures are positive, there has been a hiring slowdown as companies approach the Christmas period, with a fall of 10% in the number of new professional vacancies in November when compared to October.

Karen O’Flaherty, chief operations officer with Morgan McKinley, said there has been a rise in niche areas and temporary hiring.

“It is typical to see a slowdown in recruitment activity in November and December as we approach the festive season,” she said. “Hiring managers are citing budget restrictions as one reason for not increasing permanent headcount as we near year end.

“However, temporary hiring has increased in niche areas such as accounts payable.”

Despite the seasonal shift towards temporary staff, Ms O’Flaherty insisted there was an emerging move by companies to take on more full-time staff, with demand for specific skills pushing up salaries.

“Senior professionals are in demand in a number of key areas, including HR, office support and marketing,” she said. “Furthermore, some of these job titles with specific skills sets, including language requirements, are commanding a 10% to 15% increase in salaries being offered, a trend not seen for a number of years. This trend is concentrated primarily in Dublin.”

Areas outside Dublin are also starting to show signs of increased hiring activity, with bioscience start-ups pushing up the salaries of experienced researchers.