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Sign of more professional jobs this year

Wednesday, January 30 10:17:06

A majority (55pc) of managers responsible for hiring professionals plan to do so this year, according to the latest Morgan McKinley Ireland 2013 Salary Survey today.

In addition, 30pc will be looking to add graduate or entry level roles to their workforces.

Contrary to recent reports highlighting emigration of skilled professionals, this was not identified as a significant challenge to sourcing talent over the course of the year with only 9pc citing it as an issue. Instead, employers expect to be focusing on matching candidates' skills to their exact requirements and ensuring their employer brand, benefits and other aspects of their business are appealing to job seekers.

The results of the survey also show that the majority of respondents expect pay to remain relatively subdued over the course of the year - with 55pc of permanent hiring managers and 73pc of temporary/contract hiring managers expecting pay to remain at 2012 levels.

A further 41pc of permanent hiring managers and 21pc of temporary hiring managers forecast that salaries and pay rates will actually rise. However, respondents were cautious; any increases are likely to be modest with most expecting to see pay packets increase by 1- 10pc.

The most likely reason for employees to see their pay rise this year is employers' desire to keep the best people and also, to attract new talent - according to 41pc in the permanent market and 35pc of those who recruit temporary employees.

"While Irish businesses continue to operate in such a fluctuating business climate, it's imperative to understand from those with hiring responsibility what their expectations and resourcing needs are for the year ahead. In comparison to our Ireland 2012 Salary Survey it's pleasing to see a rise this year in those who expect salaries and contractor rates to increase in 2013," said Karen O'Flaherty, Chief Operations Officer, Morgan McKinley Ireland.

"The fact that most respondents actually predict no increase in pay is not surprising. Hiring is still at a much lower level than previous years and it is only recently that employers are starting to have slightly more visibility of the coming months. It's also fair to say that small businesses and indigenous companies continue to face challenges to their growth aspirations and as a consequence are more downbeat in their expectations for 2013. Following the last couple of years where pay hasn't increased dramatically across the board, hiring managers continue to be cautious about forecasting large uplifts in pay."

"Our key takeaways from this survey are that employers will be hiring this year, across all levels. They are very conscious of the need to be competitive in their approach to attracting new talent and keeping the best people they already have. In addition, their focus must be on sourcing professionals with the right skills to add value to their businesses. Increased activity across sales & marketing is a positive indicator which we very much hope will add to business growth in 2013," said Ms O'Flaherty.