Official statistics point to a marked improvement in the local labour market towards the end of 2017 and into 2018.
Falling unemployment and a pick-up in the pace of job creation have been two notable trends.
The latest NIJobs.com Jobs Report, with Ulster Bank, reveals a similar picture for Q1 2018.
Last year saw job listings ease throughout most of 2017. However, 2018 has seen a reversal in this trend. Overall, the latest report shows that the number of jobs listed on NIJobs.com rose by 18% q/q in the first quarter, taking the total number of jobs advertised to a series high. Job advertisements have risen by one-fifth in the last three years.
GROWTH IN JOBS
The growth remains broad-based with a number of firms/sectors in expansion mode. Meanwhile, staff turnover remains an issue with EU nationals working within Northern Ireland increasingly attracted to opportunities in the thriving Eurozone.
Indeed, it is noted that there was a significant jump in job listings for opportunities in the Republic of Ireland in the latest quarter. This highlights the international dimension to the competition for talent.
Eight of the thirty-two employment categories posted their highest number of listings to date. These included: construction, architecture & property; and accountancy & finance. Meanwhile, a number of categories, notably engineering and production, manufacturing & materials handling went close to their recent highs. The latter is indicative of continued strong demand for exports, buoyed up by robust global growth.
There was a surge in demand for hospitality and IT workers in Q1. The former is not surprising given the number of new hotels due to open this year. IT vacancies rose by 37% q/q and represented the most listings in three years. One in ten of all listings are IT jobs.
LARGEST EMPLOYMENT SECTORS
IT, accountancy & finance and engineering are the three largest employment categories and together account for one-quarter of all the job vacancies on offer. Hospitality is a close fourth, accounting for almost 7% of job listings.
Overall, two of the biggest drivers of job opportunities have been hospitality and the IT sector, and this will likely continue to be the case. However, whilst the phrase ‘can’t get the staff’ is one that we are likely to hear more and more across the economy in the months ahead, it will be particularly so in these two key sectors.
COMPETITION FOR CANDIDATES
It’s not just about hiring people, it’s about getting the right people with the right skills and experience, and competition for these good people in IT and hospitality will be increasingly fierce. Competition in the IT sector for skills will come from the growing number of tech companies that we have locally, whilst competition for skills in hospitality will increasingly come from external sources.
As other economies elsewhere in Europe such as Germany and Poland forge ahead in terms of economic growth at a stronger rate than Northern Ireland and the UK, combined with the current exchange rate, this will make working elsewhere more attractive to many migrant workers currently in Northern Ireland.
Richard Ramsey is Chief Economist, Northern Ireland, at Ulster Bank. In addition to providing regular analysis internally at the bank, Richard is a frequent economic commentator in the media and a regular columnist in newspapers Northern Ireland. To read more from Richard on his blog Ulster Economix, click here.