Report shows increase in number of professional job vacancies

Some 5% more professional job vacancies were advertised in April, compared to March, according to figures released today.

The Morgan McKinley Employment Monitor for April shows that year-on-year, there are 16% less professionals seeking new jobs.

There are still a high number of vacancies in the IT sector, but other areas where there is a skills shortage, including in the areas of banking and insurance.

Karen O’Flaherty, chief operations officer, Morgan McKinley commented: “The positive start to 2014 continued into April, which recorded increased job opportunity figures compared to last month and last year.

“This is especially significant in light of April being a “shortened” working month due to various bank holidays.

“Healthy demand is still prevalent for senior finance candidates and internal audit professionals across all levels.

“A symptom of this demand is that candidates are often receiving multiple job offers; this is putting hiring managers under pressure to complete their recruitment processes more swiftly and promote themselves as an employer of choice to ensure they attract and retain key talent.

“The insurance and banking industries particularly are very active with compliance, risk and project management candidates highly sought after.

“Interestingly we are seeing increased activity in the insurance market which concurs with a recent PWC report suggesting Ireland could establish itself as a ‘Global Centre for Insurance Innovation’.

“The ICT sector remains strong in Ireland with continued demand for .Net, Java and Java Script professionals. Employment trends have shifted from permanent to fixed term contracts as companies manage headcount constraints and sourcing IT professionals on a permanent basis is more challenging than sourcing fixed term contractors.

“The supply chain sector is experiencing a lift in job opportunities for warehouse, materials planning and materials management professionals. We see this as a positive development and indicative of the improvement in the Irish retail market.

“Regarding job seekers returning from abroad, we are seeing increased numbers within finance and office support sectors and those who have gained valuable international experience are now highly sought after professionals.”