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10th Oct 2020

Job vacancies for ‘remote working roles’ increased by 112% in the last three months

Conor Heneghan

remote working jobs

Despite the impact of Covid-19, job vacancies increased by 56% in the third quarter of 2020.

Vacancies for remote working roles in Ireland increased by 112% in the third quarter of 2020 and by 1,264% compared to the same period last year.

Those figures are included in the latest Jobs Index from Irishjobs.ie, which also reveals that job vacancies in the period from July to September increased by 56% compared to the previous three months.

The spike in the increase in remote working roles shows how Irish businesses have adapted to the impact of Covid-19.

Currently, under Level 3, government advice is to work from home “unless absolutely necessary to attend in person,” with many employees across the country having been working from home since measures to combat the spread of Covid-19 were first introduced in March.

Sectors where job vacancies have seen a notable increase include IT (up 83% from the second quarter of 2020), construction and property (+42%), engineering and utilities (+29%), pharma (+26%) and medicine and healthcare (+10%).

While there has been quarter-on-quarter growth in the hospitality and tourism industry due to restrictions having been lifted at various stages between July and September, the decline in job vacancies compared to the same period from last year is stark.

Data from the Jobs Index, for example, suggests that vacancies in the hotel and catering sector are down 73% from last year, while it’s worse for the tourism, travel and airlines industry, where vacancies are down 90% from the third quarter of last year.

As far as the various regions are concerned, Dublin (up 57% from the second quarter of 2020), Cork (up 36%), Limerick (up 76%) and Galway (75%) all saw strong growth in the number of job vacancies in the third quarter.

Those figures, however, are likely to be affected by the reintroduction of Covid-19 restrictions, both in specific areas (Dublin) and nationwide.

While acknowledging the impact of Covid-19 on sectors such as hospitality and tourism, Orla Moran, IrishJobs.ie General Manager, said there was “cause for hope”.

“A 56% growth in job vacancies suggests businesses are adjusting to this backdrop of uncertainty,” Moran said.

“A recent Central Bank quarterly report suggested that the Irish economy will see a decline of less than half a per cent this calendar year.

“However, this doesn’t tell the full story. Our Q3 data demonstrates a clear divergence between sectors dominated by large multinationals and those consisting of smaller indigenous SMEs. Last week’s cautious ESRI quarterly update further bears this out.”

“On Tuesday, we will see the Government publish details of its 2021 Budget,” Moran added.

“The Budget is expected to build on the strategic goals of the July Stimulus Plan and prioritise job creation and job retention across the board. It is hoped that it will get Ireland back on the path to having ‘safe’ national finances again.

“It is important that the Government recognises the very real challenge facing many indigenous businesses across Ireland and acts swiftly in bringing in new supports that can enable SMEs meet the unenviable task of planning for an uncertain future.”

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