The number of job vacancies is levelling out according to new figures released by Irishjobs.ie today.
The index showed a 4% increase in vacancies during the second quarter, a slight increase from the 3% growth recorded in the first quarter.
The index also revealed a 15% year-on-year growth in the number of roles available this quarter however, this is a slowdown from the 44% year-on-year figure last quarter.
The sectors that experienced the highest quarterly growth for job vacancies were retail, hospitality, tourism and travel. The banking and financial services sector saw job vacancies increase by 6% from the previous quarter.
The Irishjobs.ie index analysed job vacancies across 30 sectors and its figures showed year-on-year increases in job vacancies in 20 sectors.
A number of industries are experiencing a levelling off in vacancies following a rapid hiring period during the pandemic. These include jobs in IT, which has seen vacancies increase by just 1% quarter-on-quarter and fall by 12% year-on-year.
Job vacancies have has also begun to decline in science, pharmaceutical and food which experienced a 5% fall in vacancies as well as production, manufacturing and materials which experienced a 9% decline from the previous quarter.
Industries that were worst impacted by public health restrictions during the pandemic continue to experience the greatest demand for workers., with positions in the hotel and catering sector up by 61% year-on-year.
Roles in the tourism, travel and airlines sector have increased by 107% year-on-year.
Commenting on today’s results, Jane Lorigan, CEO of Saongroup, parent company of IrishJobs.ie, said: “Our first Index of 2022 indicated a continuing stabilisation in the market following the pandemic-driven surge in job postings across the country towards the end of last year.
“Today’s results reveal that this trend towards stabilisation in the jobs market is continuing, with the number of jobs available across the country levelling out compared to the year-on-year growth we saw last quarter.
“With economic and geopolitical uncertainty dominating today’s news agenda, it’s clear that employers are becoming more cautious when it comes to expansion in order to counteract the effects of growing inflation, while others are simply responding to a decreased need for services in the wake of the pandemic,” she added.
The results from the index also showed that compared to the previous quarter there was an 11% rise in vacancies offering remote working, revealing that even following the reopening of offices there is still an increasing number of working from home roles available.
The index also revealed a regional breakdown of job vacancies with Carlow showing the highest year-on-year increase in job vacancy creation at 85%. This was followed by Offaly at 49% and Meath at 41%.
