The shift away from fully remote working continued in the final few months of 2024, new data has shown, as employers pushed to get people back into the office.
Still, hybrid working vacancies were unchanged, the analysis from hiring platform IrishJobs showed, indicating there were some concessions from employers who were looking to attract talent.
The data showed the proportion of fully remote vacancies in the fourth quarter was 2.3 per cent, close to its lowest level since 2019. That has fallen by more than 80 per cent since the third quarter of 2022, when it was at its peak.
But hybrid working vacancies were at 10.7 per cent for the second quarter in a row. That figure has moved between 12.2 per cent and 10.7 per cent over the past eight quarters.
“There has been much focus on return-to-office mandates by large corporates in Ireland and internationally, and IrishJobs data shows fully remote working continues to fall as an employment offering. However, our analysis also reveals growing stability in the level of hybrid working vacancies offered by employers in Ireland, indicating this work model is likely to remain a feature of the labour market,” said Sam Dooley, country director of the Stepstone Group Ireland with responsibility for IrishJobs.
Among the top sectors for vacancies during the three-month period were catering, which includes hospitality jobs, with 11 per cent of the vacancies recorded during the period.
Management, customer services, health and sales made up the remainder of the top five.
The construction sector accounted for almost 6 per cent of vacancies, the sixth largest sector and edging out IT for the second quarter in a row. Engineering was at 5 per cent, on a par with IT vacancies.
Overall, the number of vacancies fell by 9 per cent, indicating a more cautious hiring environment. Sectors such as finance and science saw significant declines in vacancies, which dropped by 11 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.
But the domestic economy showed more resilience than the internationally traded sectors, with the former supported by reduced inflationary pressures, interest rate cuts and low unemployment.
[ Ireland joins global row-back on working-from-home arrangementsOpens in new window ]
“Elevated geopolitical and economic uncertainty, particularly around the emergence of a more protectionist global trading landscape, is triggering a cautious sentiment among many businesses in Ireland,” said Mr Dooley.
The counties with the highest increase in vacancies over the least three months included Mayo, Kerry and Monaghan (12.1 per cent).
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