We regularly update this report to track the pandemic’s effects on the labour market. 

Irish job postings on Indeed remain at a high level, but have plateaued. Job postings — a real-time measure of labour market activity — were 57% above the 1 February, 2020, pre-pandemic baseline, seasonally adjusted, as of 20 May, 2022. Since hitting a post-pandemic peak of 65% in mid-February, postings have tracked broadly sideways in recent weeks. Like other economies, Ireland faces headwinds from the war in Ukraine and the associated spike in global energy prices. But with relatively low direct exposure to Russia and Ukraine compared with other European countries, Ireland is expected to maintain a comparatively brisk pace of growth. Moreover, many employers still have staffing gaps to fill after a period of challenging hiring conditions after the economy’s reopening. 

A line graph titled “Job postings on Indeed, Ireland”
A line graph titled “Job postings on Indeed, Ireland” showing the percentage change in job postings on Indeed Ireland since 01 Feb 2020, seasonally adjusted, to 20 May 2022. There was a 57% change in job postings on Indeed Ireland from 01 Feb 2020 to 20 May 2022.

Strength of recoveries varies widely across occupations

Healthcare-related occupations continue to have among the strongest job posting recoveries, with job postings two or even three times pre-pandemic levels. But other categories lag, with job postings below pre-pandemic levels in chemical engineering, architecture and legal. 

Table titled “Some occupations are booming while others lag.”
Table titled “Some occupations are booming while others lag.” Indeed compared the percent change in Irish job postings, between 1 February, 2020, and 20 May 2022 across various sectors divided into sections “Better than economy average,” and “Worse than economy average.” The strongest performers were pharmacy and veterinary, while the weakest performers were chemical engineering and architecture.

Kildare has strongest job postings recovery

Looking across the five largest counties by job posting volume, County Kildare leads with job postings 102% above the baseline. Limerick has the slowest job posting recovery at 29% above the baseline.

A line graph titled “Kildare has strongest job postings recovery”
A line graph titled “Kildare has strongest job postings recovery” showing a breakdown of the percentage change in job postings on Indeed Ireland since 1 Feb 2020, seasonally adjusted, to 20 May 2022, by the five largest counties by job posting volume. Kildare had the highest increase at 102%, while Limerick was the weakest performer at 29%.

We will continue to provide regular updates on these trends as the situation evolves. We also host the data behind the postings trends plots on Github as downloadable CSV files. Typically, the site will be updated with the latest data one day after the respective Hiring Lab tracker is published.

Methodology

All figures in this blogpost are the percentage change in seasonally-adjusted job postings since 1 February, 2020, using a seven-day trailing average. 1 February, 2020, is our pre-pandemic baseline. We seasonally adjust each series based on historical patterns in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Each series, including the national trend, occupational sectors, and sub-national geographies, is seasonally adjusted separately. We adopted this new methodology in January 2021. 

The number of job postings on Indeed.com, whether related to paid or unpaid job solicitations, is not indicative of potential revenue or earnings of Indeed, which comprises a significant percentage of the HR Technology segment of its parent company, Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Job posting numbers are provided for information purposes only and should not be viewed as an indicator of performance of Indeed or Recruit. Please refer to the Recruit Holdings investor relations website and regulatory filings in Japan for more detailed information on revenue generation by Recruit’s HR Technology segment.