Mayo employment opportunities grew by 36% in 2023
MAYO employment opportunities grew by 36% in 2023, according to leading recruitment company FRS Recruitment.
They also expect the positive local trend to continue, with an additional growth of 5% forecast for the county over the course of 2024.
The positive outlook for the coming year is in line with FRS Recruitment’s national projections, with 8% growth forecast for the country as a whole. They are anticipating particularly strong demand for accounting, insurance, engineering, science, construction, cybersecurity and social care personnel on a national basis.
It is also expected that upward pressure on salaries in Mayo and the rest of the country will continue over the next 12 months, with the economy at full employment and cost of living challenges still being felt by local employees.
The analysis is included in FRS Recruitment’s 2023 Review & 2024 Trend Forecast report. In total, over the course of 2023, FRS Recruitment advertised a total of 88,964 opportunities nationally. There was also a strong level of response from potential candidates to the openings that came on market, with FRS recording a 32% rise in the average number of applications received per opportunity.
On a county by county basis, 20 of the 26 counties experienced a decline in job opportunities in 2023.
Mayo was one of six counties to buck the national trend and record a rise in the number of opportunities in 2023. There was significant growth across most of the north-west with increases also recorded in Donegal (up 43%), Leitrim (up 40%) and Sligo (up 13%).
Lynne McCormack, general manager with FRS Recruitment, commented: “If 2023 was a year of turbulence in the recruitment market nationally, Mayo was one of the few counties where a rise in the number of employment opportunities was recorded. Looking ahead to 2024, we fully expect the market in Mayo to continue to grow and our expectations are that there should also be steady growth across the national market after a challenging 12 months for the recruitment sector.
“It is fair to say that in 2023, on a national level, the market 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.
“Rising costs relating to energy, supply chain expenses and salaries also impacted on the recruitment outlook as many employers opted to utilise their available workforce rather than going to the market with new openings.
“Thankfully, the market recovered in Q3 and was firing strongly again by the end of the year. The signs point to that approach continuing for into 2024.”
The 2023 Review & 2024 Trend Forecast report is available on https://www.frsrecruitment.com/.