Professional Job Vacancies Increase While Marginally Fewer Seek Jobs

Most in demand positions in April 2018:

• Data Analyst
• Business Analyst
• Data Protection/Data Privacy Officer
• Multilingual Technical Support
• Quality Manager
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning Engineer
• Other: Communications Specialist, Management Accountant, IT Project Manager

The number of professional job vacancies available in April 2018 increased by 5.5% nationally since March according to the Morgan McKinley Ireland Employment Monitor. Overall, the availability of professional jobs reduced by 11.5% in April 2018 compared to the same month a year ago.

There was also a reduction of 1.2% in the number of professionals seeking new roles in April compared to the previous month. The monitor also recorded a marginal increase of 0.2% in the number of professionals actively seeking new job opportunities in April 2018, compared to April 2017. This reflects improving economic conditions and overall balance in the professional jobs market in a climate where unemployment has fallen below 6% for the first time in over a decade.

Morgan McKinley Ireland, Global FDI Director, Trayc Keevans commented:

“Overall April was very strong from a jobs announcement perspective particularly from the Biopharma sector. We saw a number of large multinationals make significant job announcements in regional locations such as Dundalk, Louth and Meath ahead of locations such as Dublin and Cork. We are now seeing the regions really starting to compete with urban locations in terms of job creation particularly in new emerging technologies.

“Job disciplines where we have seen a positive increase month on month in terms of hiring includes: Demand Marketing Specialists, Project Programme Managers, HR Specialists and Financial Accountants. We are also seeing strong organic growth in the Irish professional jobs market where companies have a positive outlook and are resourcing their requirements accordingly. These roles include front of house roles such as reception and administration. This is compatible with new office openings and the continuing expansion of activities.

“Opportunities in the Legal Sector are being created in the local market at an increased pace. There are two main reasons for this; uncertainty over Brexit and GDPR. Both conditions represent uncharted territory whereby legal firms are aiming to assist clients to navigate through Brexit and GDPR with advice and clarity.

“The diverse approach by companies to the GDPR deadline continues. Many companies are at very different points on their GDPR journey. There are still some companies at the beginning that are still trying to understand what GDPR means for them and only starting their due diligence now. As a result, they will find the up-coming deadline very hard to achieve. Others that are much further along, have the appropriate infrastructure in place and have communicated their policies to clients and customers before the May 25^th enactment date.”