Morgan McKinley February Employment Monitor

The February 2016 Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor registered a 11% decrease (11,762) in the number of professional job opportunities compared to January 2016 but was on a par with the same month last year. There was a 2% decrease in the number of professionals seeking employment this month compared to the previous month, but a 14% increase compared to February 2015.

Morgan McKinley Ireland Operations Director, Bryan Hyland, commented:

“January 2016 represented an exceptionally strong and confident start to the hiring outlook. This month we have seen a levelling off of this intensity. All economic indicators remain positive for steady job growth this year; however any prolonged period of political uncertainty would not be welcome and could have the potential to impact inward investment decisions of FDI companies.

Nationally, talent shortages remain challenging in high-skilled sectors and niche expertise is sought in manufacturing, engineering, IT and risk areas within banking and insurance. This has led to salary inflation in these sectors where the talent pool is limited. Gradually the market is recognising the need for a collective strategy to combat these shortages by attracting new talent to Ireland and lure expatriates back from overseas. 

Within the competitive hiring ICT sector, more tech startups are winning the war for talent this month by focusing on their employer proposition, promoting their company culture and overall remuneration package. Notable high demand areas include; IT security due to continued cyber security concerns and iOS developers reflecting the industry focus on mobile and front end customer solutions.

The construction and building services sector continues its slow but steady journey back to health, with an increase in professionals coming back from abroad to pursue opportunities.