The Hiring Trends Update is here!
The new bi-annual format explores key labour market trends in Northern Ireland every six months, unpacking what they mean for employers and recruiters. Alongside fresh data and expert commentary, each edition comes with actionable advice to help you hire smarter, faster, and more effectively.
In this edition, we have gathered insights from 159 HR leaders and 362 candidates in Northern Ireland, focusing on current market shifts, in-demand roles and skills, and what employers can expect in 2026, and how to prepare for hiring success.
Current market landscape
Northern Ireland’s labour market is moving into a more balanced phase, after a period of historic tightness marked by record-low unemployment and strong hiring momentum. Job vacancies have held steady, but hiring has cooled from post-pandemic highs, and the unemployment rate has edged up to around 2.2%. While the market remains tight, growth across sectors is uneven: domestically driven activity continues to underpin demand, even as externally-oriented industries like tech and pharmaceuticals face more volatility.
“2024 was a year of outperformance as far as the Northern Ireland economy was concerned, as private sector growth and labour market conditions compared favourably with the rest of the UK. This theme has continued with the local economy maintaining this momentum well into 2025.
Three-quarters of the way through the year, the global economic environment has changed immeasurably, relative to how it started the year. Donald Trump’s upending of the global order of the last 80 years has triggered unprecedented levels of uncertainty, not least concerning international trade. Whilst the local economy is not immune from these developments, in many respects, the All-Island economy is an oasis of calm relative to the choppy waters elsewhere.
Northern Ireland’s labour market continues to notch up some record highs of the positive variety. The number of employees on HMRC payrolls hit a fresh high of 814,726 in September 2025. That represents a 1% increase (+8,300 jobs) on the same period a year ago. Furthermore, Northern Ireland was the only UK region to record growth over the last 12 months. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland continues to have the lowest unemployment rate of the 12 UK regions at 2.6%. However, this represents a notable rise from the record low of 1.5% at the start of the year and is now at a 33-month high.” – Richard Ramsey, NI Economist.
Top takeaways from the latest Hiring Trends Update
- 33% of businesses increased recruitment in the last 6 months
- Time to hire across industries is at 6 weeks*
- 31% of businesses expect to increase recruitment in the next 6 months
- 69% of businesses say they are confident in finding the talent they need
- 53% of employers cite decreasing hiring budgets as a challenge
As we improve our research, we’ve changed the methodology of how we track time to hire. To improve statistical accuracy, we started using a scale to measure it. The scale now better represents the natural fluctuations. We also use the median value to that end.
Market shifts and what’s ahead
Hiring has cooled from its peak but remains underpinned by strong domestic momentum. Government plans for higher capital spending should support labour demand, though exposure to U.S.-EU trade tensions leaves externally oriented sectors, particularly medical technologies, more vulnerable to volatility.
Persistent hiring challenges
While conditions may be stabilising, the last six months have underlined the challenges of operating in a cooling market. Employers have had to contend with:
- Shrinking hiring budgets (53%)
- Longer time-to-hire (59%)
- Increasing pressure to meet salary expectations (56%)
Skills gaps also remain a persistent challenge, with many employers struggling to fill roles as skills requirements (72%) continue to evolve. The result has been increased competition for talent, with over a quarter of organisations (28%) reporting they have lost staff looking for better opportunities elsewhere in the last 6 months.
Emerging optimism
Looking ahead, many organisations are preparing to accelerate their hiring activities over the next 6 months. Beyond general optimism, with 69% of businesses confident they will secure the talent they need in 2026, we found that:
- Almost 1 in 3 large businesses plan to increase their hiring in the next six months
- 20% of large businesses expect to engage more temporary staff and freelancers
Furthermore, 25% of SMEs and 31% of large businesses intend to review the structure of a department, team, or wider business, demonstrating employers focusing on securing their departments and the expertise they need to drive growth.
Candidate perspectives and motivations
Despite this cautious optimism from employers, employee intentions still offer a mixed picture for hiring.
The majority plan to remain in their current roles for the time being, while 9% are considering internal opportunities, perhaps due to many prioritising security over ambition, given perceived weakness in the job market. Around one in four are open to changing their current employer, with salary (56%) remaining the most decisive factor for those seeking new opportunities, followed by:
- Work-life balance (38%)
- Flexible working (31%)
For employers, these priorities signal where hiring strategies require attention. As the market steadies, organisations that act on these insights, investing in skills, expanding hiring activity, and responding to workforce expectations will be best placed to attract the talent they need.
Maintaining hiring health
Navigating the months ahead will require decisive action. One immediate priority for employers should be aligning their value proposition with candidate priorities.
Our research shows that competitive salaries remain critical, but so does a clear commitment to work-life balance, job security, and flexible working.
These areas can be addressed in practical ways, including:
- Reviewing salaries: Regularly assess compensation against market benchmarks to ensure offers remain competitive and reflect rising candidate expectations.
- Benchmarking against competitors: Monitor how similar organisations position themselves on salary, benefits, and working arrangements to avoid losing talent to more attractive offers.
- Embedding flexibility into company policy: Where feasible, formalise hybrid or flexible working arrangements that provide employees with greater control, supporting both attraction and retention.
Equally important is streamlining hiring processes to avoid unnecessary delays, with our findings suggesting that lengthy time-to-hire and unclear communication have been key drivers of candidate’s dropouts. Employers can address this through a smoother, more candidate-friendly experience that includes:
- Easy application processes
- Tight interview structure
- The use of technology to speed up screening and scheduling
- Effective communication throughout the process
In-demand skills and departments
Our research shows that hiring demand is being driven sharply in areas where employers need specialised expertise. During the past six months, the department’s businesses hired the most were:
- Tech and IT (44%): Reflecting continued digital transformation and organisational need to invest in automation for competitive advantage.
- Operations (32%): Emphasising pressure to strengthen efficiency and delivery as businesses balance growth with constrained budgets.
- Professional services (28%): Organisations are prioritising service quality and client retention in a cautious economic environment.
Unsurprisingly, when it comes to in-demand skills, technical expertise (48%) is top for recruiters, while soft skills involving problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills (39%) follow, suggesting employers are investing in capabilities that promote resilience and agility. Customer service and customer-centricity skills (33%) are third on this in-demand list, reflecting our survey findings.
Employee skill satisfaction
From the workforce perspective, most (66%) are satisfied with how their skills are utilised in their current role. This indicates that employers are doing a good job of matching candidate and employee skills, experience, and abilities to role responsibilities.
However, employees who are unsatisfied with how their skills are being used to highlight important warning signs that employers should be aware of. We found that dissatisfaction stems from:
- Limited professional development opportunities (57%)
- No opportunity to work on interesting or innovative projects (35%)
- Repetitive with lacking challenge (31%)
For employers, this is a reminder that attraction and retention go beyond compensation. Roles that fail to challenge and develop employees risk pushing them toward competitors when critical skills are in highest demand.
Preparing for 2026
After a challenging period, there are signs that conditions in the labour market are beginning to stabilise. To prepare effectively for the year ahead, employers need to act on the trends that are already reshaping the hiring landscape.
For example, AI adoption in recruitment is accelerating, with businesses already leveraging artificial intelligence across multiple hiring-related tasks, including:
- Job ad writing (40%)
- Reporting on recruitment analytics (49%)
- Tracking application status (38%)
Importantly, candidates are responding positively to this technological shift, with 66% agreeing that AI makes processes more efficient. This presents a significant opportunity for employers to simultaneously improve candidate experience while reducing the administrative burden on hiring teams.
Flexibility and fairness are also becoming non-negotiables in the hunt for talent. We found that 63% of candidates would consider leaving a job if it didn’t support flexible working, making it a key differentiator in the recruitment landscape moving forward.
“With a tight labour market, employees rather than employers hold the upper hand. Replacing staff can be expensive. Therefore, when a valued staff member seeks to leave, an employer may provide a counter offer. The majority of employers (55.3%) have been challenged by candidates receiving counter offers.
The Covid-19 pandemic provided a shot in the arm for flexible working and work-life balance. Indeed, flexible working and the ability to work from home trumped salaries for a variety of workers. Flexible & hybrid working has subsequently become baked into employees’ expectations. Some 63% of workers would consider leaving a job if it didn’t support flexible working. But increasingly, these expectations jar with employers. 60% of employers found it a challenge to meet employees’ flexible working expectations over the past 6 months.
Employers are facing a more challenging economic environment. The changing global world order has unleashed unprecedented levels of uncertainty, making planning more difficult. The rising cost of business from both taxation and red-tape, couple with new technology such as AI to provide both a need for and an opportunity for firms to restructure.
Increased recruitment and restructuring top the workforce agendas for the next 6 months. This will include the recruitment of new roles/skills and the upskilling of existing staff. Cost-conscious employers need to be cognisant of the deepening expectations of employees. Staff retention and recruitment are expected to be a challenge in 2026.” – Richard Ramsey, NI Economist.
Staying ahead of the competition
Our research suggests that emphasis on applicant quality, transparency, and skills-based hiring will shape how employers compete for talent in 2026. However, the real challenge will lie in turning these priorities into action.
Those who move early to adapt their strategies will be best placed to meet candidate expectations and gain an edge in the hiring landscape. This might include:
- Optimising hiring processes: Streamlining application and interview stages to reduce delays, provide faster feedback, and maintain clear communication.
- Investing in recruiter capacity: With workload management ranking as a top employer priority, organisations can now use AI to handle repetitive tasks, freeing recruiters to focus on relationship-building and candidate engagement.
- Doubling down on transparency and flexibility: Competitive pay, clear salary ranges, and flexible working arrangements are decisive for candidates, so delivering on these expectations will be essential to attracting and retaining talent.
About the research
The Hiring Trends Update is a bi-annual piece of research that checks the current pulse of the recruitment market. We surveyed 150 HR professionals and 362 jobseekers from Northern Ireland between 4th and 19th of September. All responses were collected online, and the candidate survey is representative of the Irish population by gender and age.
Register now for the NIJobs Hiring Trends Update Webinar