20pc increase in professional jobs on offer in Ireland
The number of professional jobs on offer was 20pc higher in May, at 9,434, compared to a year ago and 5pc up on April of this year, according to the Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor.
The number of professionals seeking new job opportunities increased by 2pc to 10,135 in May 2013. This upward trend has built slowly from January when 9,735 job seekers were recorded.
However, on a yearly basis the number of job seekers has overall declined by 20pc from May 2012 to stand at 10,135 in May of this year.
Karen O’Flaherty, chief operations officer, Morgan McKinley said it remained “cautiously optimistic”. “Though modest, the 5pc increase represents the second consecutive month in 2013 of positive jobs growth.
“The 20pc increase compared to May 2012 in the number of professional vacancies is also an encouraging sign that the jobs market continues to show steady growth from a changeable position in late 2012 and early 2013 rather than a dramatic increase in the number of vacancies.
“The 20pc drop in job seekers available in the market between May 2012 and May 2013 is seen as a positive indicator that professional job opportunities are growing and that people are securing employment.”
Multinational companies continue to lead hiring activity supported by exporting companies as Ireland has seen a steady increase in exports from the start of 2013, the monitor showed.
“Continued activity in inward investment saw in excess of 300 new jobs announced for ICT, engineering, sales, HR, legal and finance professionals,” said O’Flaherty.
“Within IT and technology demand remains robust for professionals with web, mobile, digital and software development experience. This trend reflects the diverse positions available across a variety of sectors for IT professionals.
“In the financial services area we have seen an increase in the number of compliance and anti-money laundering roles at mid to senior level. Candidates with a strong operations and project management background together with regulatory knowledge also remain in high demand. Throughout May 2013 we noted an increased demand for risk professionals for both insurance and banking sectors.
She added: “Many business operations continue to recruit candidates with multi-lingual skills and we have seen the emergence of inside sales roles coupled with challenging language requirements such as Swedish, Catalan and Dutch. Equally those with multiple languages who also have strong IT, order management or supply chain experience are in high demand.”