Employment Monitor - February 2010

“Monitoring the pulse of the Irish professional jobs market”

Positive growth trend continues Ireland’s professional jobs market

Highlights

• In February 10, new professional job vacancies increased by 34% compared to February 09
• Month-on-month, the number of new job vacancies rose by 7%
• This is the fourth consecutive month of increase in the number of new jobs available for professionals in Ireland
• In February 10 compared to January 10, the number of professionals beginning their job search increased by 19%
• There were 58% more professionals entering the Irish jobs market in February compared to the same month last year

Number of new jobs and new candidates continues to grow

In February 10, the number of new professional vacancies in the Irish jobs market grew for the fourth consecutive month, registering a 34% increase from 4,201 in February 09 to 5,633 in February10. The monthly increase was 7% rising from 5,282 in January 10 to 5,633 in February 10. The highest number of job vacancies since November 08 was registered in February, reflecting greater confidence in some, but not all areas of the professional jobs market.

February 10 also saw a 19% increase in the number of professionals entering the jobs market with numbers rising from 12,655 in January 10 to 15,060 in February 10. There was also a significant increase in the volume of professionals who started looking for new career opportunities in February 10 compared to the previous year, rising by 58% from 9,515 in February 09 to 15,060 in February 10.

Brian Murphy, Managing Director of Premier Group in Ireland comments:

“The number of professional jobs available in the marketplace continued to increase
in February 10 with vacancies rising by 7% over January 10 and by a considerable 34% over February 09, a time when confidence in the employment market was particularly low and many companies were announcing redundancies.

“It was pleasing that the overall upward trend in new job opportunities that kicked off in August 09 has continued to February 10. There was a general pick-up across all industry sectors in February 10 with a particularly positive increase in the FMCG market. Across all sectors, the bulk of new positions continue to come from blue chip multinational businesses although there was a small increase in SME activity.

“Since the start of the year there has been a rising demand for temporary and contract staff. Many companies have labour requirements but it appears that until there are stronger signs of a sustained economic recovery, the flexibility of hiring temporary staff is currently proving the more attractive option to fill evolving resource gaps.

“The number of professionals active in the jobs market in February 10 increased by 19% over January 10. This is due in part to the traditional rise in professionals considering their career options at the start of the New Year as well as a degree of renewed confidence in the professional jobs market. The year-on- year monthly increase in professionals entering the jobs market over February 09 was 58%. This
increase is not surprising considering that many professionals decided to remain in their respective positions once the economic storm took hold in the first half of 09. Now that things are looking slightly more positive, professionals are starting to see that new career opportunities might be out there.”

Chart: New jobs v. new candidates

Notes to editors
Further press information:

Cian Connaughton
MKC Communications
Tel: + 353 87 6480809
Email: cian@mkc.ie

About the Premier Group Irish Employment Monitor

The Premier Group Irish Employment Monitor measures the pulse of the Irish professional
jobs market by tracking the number of new job vacancies and new candidates within the Republic of Ireland each month. The first Premier Group Irish Employment Monitor was launched in May 2009 with data from April 2008 onwards.

Statistical methodology

Monthly new jobs and new candidates
Monthly new jobs and new candidate figures are based on Premier Group’s own monthly records of new permanent job vacancies and new candidates registering with the firm for permanent employment. Statistics for the full market are derived using Premier Group’s own market share.

Job classification
Job vacancies are professional level roles within the following sectors and functions; Banking & Financial Services, Commerce & Industry Finance, Insurance, Public Practice & Tax, Legal, HR, IT, Life Sciences, Engineering, Process & Manufacturing, Professional Services, Sales & Marketing, Customer Service, Secretarial & Office Support.

Geography
The data is based on new job vacancies and new candidates registered with Premier Group’s network of Irish offices in Cork, Dublin, Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford.

About Premier Group

Premier Group is Ireland's leading recruitment consultancy with offices in Cork, Dublin, Kilkenny, Limerick, and Waterford. Internationally, the Group operates from 24 offices across eight countries. Subsidiary brands within Premier Group in Ireland include Accreate Executive Search & Interim, Brunel, la crème, Premier, and Verkom. Morgan McKinley and iQ selection also form part of the Premier Group outside of Ireland.

http://www.premiergroup.ie/

Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor

Premier Group currently publishes a similar monitor in London under its subsidiary brand name, Morgan McKinley. The highly regarded Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor was launched in 2004 and reports on the new roles, candidates and salaries within the financial services jobs market in London each month. Visit http://www.morganmckinley.co.uk/ for details.