OPPORTUNITIES for employment in Limerick are expected to grow significantly during 2024, according to one local recruitment company.
FRS Recruitment forecast that employment openings are set to rise by nine per cent throughout the year, according to its 2023 Review and 2024 Trend Forecast Report.
This comes following a “disappointing” year in 2023, which saw job openings locally drop by 20 per cent.
Limerick’s projection is in line with with FRS’ predictions for the country as a whole, with an eight per cent growth forecast for the coming year.
Areas that will see the strongest demand include accounting, insurance, engineering, science, construction, cybersecurity, and social care.
Upward pressure is also expected on salaries in Limerick throughout 2024, the recruitment agency says, as the country is in full employment and in the grip of the continuing cost of living crisis.
Nationwide in 2023, FRS Recruitment advertised a total of 88,964 job openings, with an average of a 32 per cent increase in the number of applications received for each job listing.
Last year saw 20 out of 26 counties experience a decline in job openings posted, with Dublin down 24 per cent, Galway down 18 per cent, and Cork down 19 per cent.
The largest decline was experienced in Monaghan with a 51 per cent decline in job openings posed in 2023.
Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo, and Sligo saw the largest increases nationally.
Lynne McCormack, general manager of FRS Recruitment, said that, despite a turbulent year in 2023, a steadier job market was forecast for the coming year.
“If 2023 was a year of turbulence in the recruitment market locally and nationally, we are anticipating a steady rise in opportunities in Limerick for the year ahead. We are already seeing green shoots of recruitment appear across multiple sectors, several of which experienced a challenging 12 months,” she said.
“It is fair to say that in 2023, the market in Limerick and the rest of the country got jittery, certainly in the first half of the year. The large job losses announced by the major tech companies seemed to resonate across the market and across most of the country. This had implications for opportunities coming on stream for multiple industries beyond the IT sector.”
Ms McCormack continued: “Rising costs relating to energy, supply chain expenses, and salaries also impacted on the recruitment outlook as many Limerick-based employers opted to utilise their available workforce rather than going to the market with new openings.”
