Highlights
- The Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor recorded a month-on-month increase of 11% in the number of professional jobs available in August 2013.
- There was also a 9% increase in the number of professional job opportunities when compared to the same month last year.
- August 2013 saw an 11% decrease in the number of professionals entering the employment market compared with July 2013.
- Compared to the same time last year this is a 26% decrease in the number of new professional job seekers on the market.
The August 2013 Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor registered an 11% increase in the number of new professional job opportunities from July 2013 (7,681) to August 2013 (8,527). The number of jobs available compared to the same month last year (7,828) increased by 9%.
In terms of professional job seekers entering the market, there was a decrease of 11% from 9,240 in July 2013 to 8,230 in August 2013. There was also a fall of 26% recorded in the number of professionals seeking new career opportunities compared to the same month last year (11,120).
Karen O’Flaherty, Chief Operations Officer, Morgan McKinley commented:
“Despite August being a typically quiet month for recruitment due to seasonal factors, such as holiday and the shutdown period, it is encouraging to see the demand for jobs increase month-on-month (11%). This rise in activity was most notable within the medical device, pharmaceutical and FMCG industries.
“The 11% increase in the number of newly released job opportunities, despite an initial slowdown in the early part of the month, is evident particularly within financial services, accounting & finance, engineering and supply chain markets. This is in line with recent findings from the Quarterly National Household survey which reveals employment has risen for the fourth consecutive quarter, along with a 1.8% jobs growth year-on-year.
“As is widely reported, the ongoing demand for IT talent such as developers, java, .net and QA professionals remains high. The financial services sector shows heightened demand for qualified professionals in regulation, insolvency and restructuring. This is principally attributed to the ongoing readjustment required in the Irish financial market. Furthermore, we have seen increased demand for fund candidates as Ireland continues to attract new business.
“Hiring managers within accounting and finance are seeking accountants with one to two years post-qualification experience. Historically, this community of candidates tends to travel following qualification and recent figures have identified that the same level of post-graduate professionals are not returning.
“Medical device and pharmaceutical companies continue to seek supply chain professionals, specifically with warehouse and procurement expertise. In particular those with analytical and forecasting knowledge and engineers with quality and manufacturing experience are in demand.
“Despite some talent shortages in specific sub-sets of the market, we are yet to see this translate into an increase in remuneration packages being offered. Looking forward to the latter months of 2013, we expect to see increased activity in the jobs market and are cautiously optimistic for the remainder of the year.”
View previous versions of the Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor.
Chart 1: Professional jobs
Chart 2: Professional job seekers
