New employment data has shown that despite a 29 per cent increase in the number of professional vacancies in the Republic, there has been a marked fall off in the number of candidates available to fill them.

The latest Morgan McKinley monthly employment monitor finds the number of such positions available last month was 10,572, compared to 8,184 for September, 2013.

While the increase is welcome, the statistics also show a drop-off in relevant professionals available to take them – 9,670 in 2013 dropping to just 7,400 last month. There were 8,930 last August.

From the IT sector to accounting, the market is considerably tilted in favour of applicants, with the number of positions exceeding the number of available candidates.

Commenting, Morgan McKinley Ireland’s chief operating officer Karen O’Flaherty said the data showed the “favourable position that many job-seekers are now in”.

“In all professional sectors, from finance to tech, engineering and HR, there has been a huge spike in the number of vacancies on offer, both compared to this time last year as well as August, which itself was a record month.”