Irish Jobs Market in Good Health

According to a report by Morgan McKinley Ireland, recently featured by RTE, the Irish jobs market has demonstrated impressive resilience so far this year despite recent layoffs in the technology sector. In the first quarter of 2023, there was a slight uptick in professional job vacancies compared to the previous quarter, with the number of available jobs nearly doubling since December 2022.

Seeking new job opportunities

Although the number of professional jobs entering the market decreased slightly compared to the same quarter in the previous year, the Employment Monitor noted a significant overall increase of 13% in the number of professionals actively seeking new job opportunities between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. In fact, there were 38% more professionals actively seeking new opportunities in the first quarter of 2023 than there were a year ago, which Morgan McKinley Ireland attributes to a delay in those who received redundancy payments last year returning to the job market.

Employee retention

The report also highlighted that employers are now less willing to exceed the market rate in terms of salaries, and are instead placing a greater emphasis on retaining top talent rather than attracting new candidates. This shift in focus reflects the evolving dynamics of the job market in Ireland, where employers are prioritizing employee retention strategies to maintain a competitive edge in a tight labour market.