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Employers are seeking to hire more of the people who hire people to work in their companies.

Job vacancies across Talent Acquisition and Human Resources saw an unprecedented 420% year-on-year increase in Q4 2021, according to the latest IrishJobs.ie Jobs Index.

“2021 was a particularly busy year for recruitment and we anticipate this trend will continue in 2022,” said Orla Moran, General Manager of IrishJobs.ie.

“It is perhaps telling that some of the most pronounced growth is in the recruitment, retention and HR space. This suggests that employers are acutely aware of how competitive the talent market is and are moving quickly to put the necessary internal resources in place to support and advance their recruitment and retention ambitions in 2022.”

Overall, job vacancies in Ireland were 86% higher in Q4 2021 than the same period in 2020 and 43% higher than pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest index.

Of the 30 sectors analysed by the IrishJobs.ie, 25 posted quarterly increases in vacancy generation and 22 surpassed their pre-Covid rate.

In addition to the accelerated demand for talent acquisition and HR professionals, some of the sectors most negatively impacted by Covid-19 rebounded strongly in Q4, including Tourism, Travel and Airlines and Construction, Architecture and Property.

Other sectors to experience strong growth include Sales, Environment, Health, and Safety, Legal Profession, Accountancy and Finance, and Medical Professionals & Healthcare.

All 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland recorded year-on-year Q4 growth, with Dublin (97%), Galway (93%), Cork (57%) and Limerick (20%) all seeing strong double-digit growth, versus Q4 2020. Notably, Limerick was the only county with a large urban population to see quarter-on-quarter growth, increasing by 13% versus Q3 2021.

Fully remote work vacancies increased by a modest 4%. The plateau in the growth of remote working roles suggests that employers believe the traditional office environment still has an important role to play in the workplace ecosystem.

“This possibly suggests that while many employers are very supportive of remote working strategies in the short to medium term, there is still a reluctance to 100% commit to it on a permanent basis, until there is a greater understanding of its long-term impact on working cultures and productivity,” Ms Moran said.

“However, flexible working has become a more in-demand option for job seekers since the onset of the pandemic, therefore it may become a requirement for those looking to attract the best talent.”

According to IrishJobs.ie, the recruitment landscape is shaping up to be a strong, candidate led market; a trend that will continue to dominate the recruitment space in line with the continued lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and the progressive reopening of the economy.

Article Source – Job vacancies for HR roles soar by 420% – Irish Jobs.ie – RTE

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