Employment Monitor sees major drop in professional job opportunities in December

Professional job opportunities decreased in December, according to the Morgan McKinley Monthly Employment Monitor.

The report shows a drop of 20 % last month, and it also found a 2% increase in the numbers of professionals looking for jobs.

The firm says the outlook for 2017 remains positive.

Morgan McKinley Ireland, Director of Inward Investment, Trayc Keevans said: "With most hiring occurring between September and November the decline in vacancies in December 2016 is seasonal and expected, but a record level of FDI job announcements in 2016 saw an increased demand for professional services driving recruitment activity particularly among legal, tax and accountancy professionals.

"There is very high demand for candidates with strong experience in highly regulated environments due to ongoing changes to Central Bank and EU regulations.

"Employers are now seeking more specialist expertise to manage the effective implementations of the new Regulatory Frameworks, however given their early stage, there is a limited pool of talent with relevant technical understanding, early adopter and implementation experience."

She revealed that the most active sectors in December were Professional Services, Pharma and IT.

She said: "We can see already that 2017 will be an interesting year for IT contractors. The market is pushing towards permanent hires representing a more cost-effective and better retention option than contract hires.

"Concurrently, we are seeing IT job seekers themselves leaning towards longer term employment opportunities where benefit packages that include share options representing a significant factor in their decision making. This has turned heads for some “career” IT contractors due to the potential financial rewards.

"However, there is still a skills shortage in software development resulting in a continued demand for IT contract professionals for the foreseeable future."