Technology-related roles account for half of the most in-demand jobs in Ireland, according to jobs site Indeed. com.

The company examined 35,000 Irish jobs advertised on its site, identifying computer systems administrators, computer support specialists, software engineers, data communications analysts, information systems managers and network systems analysts among the most in-demand roles. Sales managers topped the list of most in-demand jobs, followed by software quality assurance engineers and testers, and customer service representatives.

ICT-related jobs also account for more than a quarter of the “hardest to fill” roles, positions that have been open for 90 days or more. These positions include software engineers, data communications analysts, software quality assurance engineers and testers, and computer systems administrators.

Other jobs which made it into the list of hardest to fill roles include actuaries, financial managers, marketing managers, sales engineers and sales representatives.

The top 14 hardest to fill IT roles include computer programmers, computer support specialists, software engineers (applications), network systems analysts and mathematical technicians.

Chris Hyams, Indeed.com senior vice-president, said companies including Indeed have had to become more creative when it comes to attracting and hiring tech talent.

“We almost treat software developers as if they were athletes. We recruit earlier such as high school students and people in college. The challenge is to attract them as early as possible.”

He said the peak job-seeking time is Monday morning between 9am and 11am. “Employers don’t like hearing this. People are looking for another job while at work.”

He said more than 50 per cent of job applications are done from mobile, with the figure as high as 80 per cent in some countries. In Ireland 54 per cent of the site’s 400,000 monthly visitors are from mobile.

The latest jobs data, with no seasonal adjustment, shows 348,676 people signed on the live register in March, 42,556 less than in the same month in 2014.