The number of professional job vacancies in Ireland reduced by 3% in August compared to the same month a year ago, but were up 7% sequentially since July. This is according to the latest Morgan McKinley Ireland Monthly Employment Monitor which measures the pulse of the Irish professional jobs market by tracking the number of new job vacancies and new candidates within the Republic of Ireland each month.
The August Employment Monitor figures are consistent with the immediately preceding July where the overall professional jobs market softened significantly - due mainly to seasonal factors and following from an intensive period of hiring activity in the professional services recruitment market in the first half of 2017. Overall, the monitor indicates that there continues to be a high level of stability and opportunity within the professional jobs market.
There was a 19% increase in the number of professionals seeking jobs in Ireland in August compared to the same month a year ago. Morgan McKinley believes this indicates continuing high levels of mobility and perceived opportunity among the professional workforce and also reflects the nationally low rate of unemployment. The professional recruitment consultancy say there is an increased focus on employee retention, career planning and succession programmes and an overall strengthening of the remuneration and benefits being offered to professionals.
The monitor finds that professional services firms including audit, financial, treasury and legal are under increasing pressure to retain staff as overall confidence within the economy remains high and increasingly mobile employees pursue further career advancement.
There is strong demand for, and currently a short supply of, legal secretaries and also senior level executive assistants with international experience.
The monitor shows that the procurement sector is particularly buoyant where Ireland is seeing a growing trend of centralisation of European procurement operations by multinationals in Ireland. Combined with investments in advanced new technologies and systems, this is underpinning growth in recruitment by this sector, which had largely been dominated by domestic considerations to date. Morgan McKinley say procurement in, and from Ireland, is becoming more global and more strategic in nature, requiring specialist skills and qualifications. This is also stimulating an influx in employees from other countries.
Source: www.businessworld.ie
