The number of professional vacancies fell 17% during the final three months of 2022, driven by a precipitous decline in open jobs last month, according to the latest Morgan McKinley Ireland quarterly employment monitor.
Job vacancies fell 42% month-on-month in December, and new job opportunities coming to market were 8% lower than in December 2021. Indicatively, the number of job vacancies in November 2022 was up 38%, year-on-year.
While vacancies for the quarter declined, the number of professionals actively seeking new opportunities rose 5.4% between the third quarter and fourth quarter.
December saw a drop of 49% in professional job applicants from the prior month, although the total still represented an increase of 30% from December 2021. Both permanent and contract jobs are included in the study.
“The Christmas period can affect hiring processes which can drastically slow down, or even come to a complete halt," said Trayc Keevans, global FDI director at Morgan McKinley Irelnd.
In Association with
"However, job postings in the last quarter of 2022 overall remained stable despite the economic headwinds employers are facing. There’s little doubt that the economy faces some daunting challenges in 2023, however, the labour market is in a strong position to withstand the forecast turbulence.
Morgan McKinley noted that work flexibility remains a dominant requirement for jobseekers across al sectors, with a hybrid two-three day on-site option becoming the most common offering of employers.
Challenges in housing and the cost of living are also having a significant impact on hiring processes, with employers in some sectors paying for short-term accommodation.
Many employers are also requesting only local candidates to mitigate the housing challenges that face them, including the prospect of prospective employees moving across the country for fear of failing to secure accommodation.
Keevans noted a "steady flow of downsizing announcements and job cuts in the technology sector towards the end of 2022," adding that often it was sales, talent acquisition and broader business support roles that were most affected by the layoffs.
"There is a sense of realism in the number of roles available in the sector going into 2023. The constant growth in technology has finally slowed (eg, many operations benefited from the reliance on technology during the pandemic) but at Q4 2022, roles were still looking steady for 2023," she continued.
She went onto say that Ireland had become "less attractive" to overseas technology candidates, and those same candidates had become less of a priority for Irish technology employers.
Factors such as remote working options and, to a lesser extent other economic and housing crisis variables, resulted in overseas job seekers putting pause on their plans to relocate to Ireland or considering alternative locations in the short term," she said.
"In addition, Ireland’s technology employers have benefitted in local hiring and have taken advantage of available personnel from multinationals already in the market."
Demand for cybersecurity professionals continues to rise due to an existing skills gap and the rising threat of cybercrime, particularly in the financial services sector.
Keevans said there had been a shift from just being cyber aware to developing specialist security teams, which has led to an increase in hiring and building of in-house security teams to offset costs incurred by engaging third-part consultants.
The financial services sector has maintained consistent levels in hiring and salaries, with a 60:40 mix of permanent and contract roles. Risk and compliance roles are the most in demand for employers, and there has been a surge in roles for mortgage professionals following the relaxation of mortgage rules by the Central Bank for firth-time buyers.
There is sustained hiring for senior financial services talent with experience in Controlled Functions following the publication of the Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022, published July 2022, the introduction of the Senior Executive Accountability Regime (SEAR), business and conduct standards, and an improved fitness and probity (F&P) regime to improve accountability and trust in the financial services sector.
In accountancy and finance, recently qualified accountants have been in short supply, with many emigrating to Australia, Canada and the UK to gain more international experience.
There is strong demand among employers who have tax experience across all levels, as well as those who have experience in financial planning and analysis.
More recently, there has been a rise in demand across the commercial banking sector for commercial accountants, finance managers, business partners, and business providers.
Within the legal sector, in-house positions have fallen 10-15% in the past two quarters, while the number of roles in private practice has increased by a similar percentage.
The last quarter saw a continuation of the trend in shortage of newly qualified lawyers who have taken to travel and work in countries like Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, as they were not afforded that opportunity during the pandemic.
In engineering, employers sought candidates with experience in automation, largely driven by a need for greater efficiency, rapid deployment, and scalability. The last quarter also saw candidates moving to the data centre industry due to higher salaries and benefits.
There was also a strong demand for those with project management and process engineering expertise due to the large number of manufacturing projects currently taking place in Ireland, according to Keevans.
"While construction is very sensitive to any downturn in the economy, the sector is currently very stressed with one in four construction jobs vacant," she said.
"This is particularly the case with project managers, quantity surveyors, carpenters, and site managers as there is not the same level of talent coming through as there was before.”
(Pic: Getty Images)
