Booming jobs market in Ireland driving confidence

29/10/2015

Business and candidate confidence continued to increase in Ireland, evidenced by a 16% year-on-year growth in job advertisement volumes, according to the latest Robert Walters European Job Index.

Adverts for banking and finance professionals increased 11% year-on-year as the sector continued to strengthen. Demand for experienced fund accountants and fund administrators increased as leading international fund management companies expand their operations in Dublin and other regions. Equally, demand for equity analysts increased as a consequence of a renewed focus on growing returns. Operational risk professionals were increasingly sought-after as the Central Bank drives requirements for increased oversight and controls within the banking sector.

Recruitment activity in accounting and finance has also increased, with advertisements up 18% year-on-year. There has been a particular growth in demand for newly-qualified, as well as part-qualified, accountants as businesses work to expand their finance departments and build teams from the bottom up following a period of headcount reduction during the downturn.

Louise Campbell, Managing Director Robert Walters Ireland, said: “The jobs market is particularly active in Ireland, with growing candidate and business confidence, and demand for professionals across all sectors and levels of experience. With huge candidate shortages in sectors such as accounting and finance, legal, compliance and IT, staff retention remains one of the biggest priorities for businesses. Professionals are frequently headhunted and counter-offers are quickly becoming the norm.”

Recruitment in the compliance and risk & quant sectors was also very active, with an 18% and 11% year-on-year increase in advertisements, respectively. Within compliance, regulatory pressures are driving demand for professionals with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and financial crime experience. In addition, Conduct of Business specialists are highly sought-after in the insurance and retail banking sectors.

Although demand remained strong, advertisements within the legal sector were level year-on-year. However, as businesses look to grow, legal professionals with strong commercial contracts skills are in high demand and dual legal and compliance professionals are also sought-after.

The IT sector, the largest sector of growth by advertising volume, continued to go from strength to strength with job adverts up 20% year-on-year as a result of numerous multinational companies expanding their teams. Ireland is quickly establishing a reputation as a European centre for data analytics, with many global companies competing for talent. Equally, the FinTech sector is growing in importance with many new and existing companies targeting universities and graduates with strong mathematical and analytical skills.

Louise Campbell, concluded: “Ireland remains one of the fastest growing economies in the Eurozone, with strong performance in Dublin and other regional hubs such as Kilkenny, Limerick and Galway. As the jobs market continues to grow, we have seen our international credibility strengthen and as a result there is growing interest from professionals abroad considering a move to Ireland. The trends we have seen during the quarter, and indeed throughout 2015, are very encouraging and bode well for a strong jobs market in Q4 and going into next year.”

For more information please contact:
Anita Duignan, Marketing Administrator
Tel: +353 (0)1 673 0817
Email: anita.duignan@robertwalters.com

Suzanne Feeney, Country Manager
Tel: +353 1 673 0812
Email: suzanne.feeney@robertwalters.com