IT job vacancies return to pre-pandemic level, report shows

IT job vacancies amounted to 6% of all jobs advertised in the final quarter of 2023, and across last year as a whole. The IrishJobs report shows that job vacancies in the IT sector had returned to the levels shown in Q4 2019. This indicates that employment numbers are re-balancing following a surge in job numbers during the pandemic.

According to the report, fourth quarter data is in line with the overall job vacancy data for 2023, with IT job vacancies amounting to 6% of jobs advertisements. This shows a significant drop in IT employment from the 5-year high in 2021, when the sector accounted for 9% of national job vacancies.

Prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland during Q1 2020, IT job opportunities represented a stable 6% of vacancies nationally. The reduction in job vacancies indicates a return to pre-pandemic levels.

Across the IT sector, the most sought after job titles were Lead Data Architects and Data Security Officers. The report suggests the need for these titles has risen from increased demand for data management skills as the sector adapts to the continued emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the industry.

The Demise of Remote Working

*IT worker engaged in remote work, image: Lukas via Pexels.*

As companies rebound from the pandemic, a significant reduction in remote/working-from-home vacancies has occurred. Remote working vacancies have fallen fell for the second quarter in a row, dropping by 20% in Q4. This has come after a slight increase in remote working vacancies in the second-quarter 2023, leading the IrishJobs report uncertain as to whether the trends indicate a re-balancing of the sector to pre-pandemic levels.

Future IT employment outlook

The IT sector is likely to see a competitive market for talent to continue in 2024, the IrishJobs report has indicated. With the Irish Central Bank estimating unemployment remain under 5%, the report suggested that companies are likely to continue to adopt a skills-based hiring approach to securing potential talent to fill specific skills-shortages which exist in the sector.

Sam Dooley, Country Director of The Stepstone Group Ireland with responsibility for IrishJobs, said: “Hiring activity remains cautious across many sectors, impacted in part by slower expected levels of growth in the domestic economy in 2024.”

He continued saying that “hiring has continued to moderate over the past quarter, with job vacancies declining at a quarterly and yearly rate, from previous highs. Despite this moderation, the job market remains dynamic, with an increase in candidates seeking new roles in the final three months of 2023, a time when traditionally we’d see job-seeker activity ease back.

“Taken together, these trends may offer some respite to recruiters. Increased demand for new roles combined with moderated levels of hiring can provide a window of opportunity for employers to better meet their talent needs.”