Hiring levels in Ireland were down 7.2 per cent in January compared with 12 months earlier, but the rate of decline here was softer than any other European market, data from LinkedIn suggests.
The jobs networking platform said the number of people starting new jobs was down 12.2 per cent in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.
It said Ireland compared particularly favourably to Italy, where the level was down 16.3 per cent, and to the Netherlands and France where levels were down 16.8 per cent and 17.7 per cent respectively.
Positive signs were seen across several industries in Ireland despite the overall drop in hiring, with increases recorded in financial services (5.9 per cent) as well as in hospitals and healthcare (5.4 per cent).
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While hiring rates may have stalled, the demand for flexible work opportunities continued to soar. Ireland had the highest level of remote job postings offered (10.9 per cent) and came second (34.2 per cent) in Europe for the proportion of hybrid positions advertised.
Despite only accounting for 10.9 per cent of all job postings, applications for remote roles accounted for 18.5 per cent of all applications, highlighting the “pulling power” of flexibility for attracting talent, LinkedIn said.
Demand for specialist talent continued to rise with “artificial intelligence (AI) agents” recorded as the fastest-growing AI engineering skill of 2025.
LinkedIn also recorded rapid growth in AI strategy and large language model operations, underscoring companies’ “growing investment in specialised workflows”.
“The net result is that AI engineering talent now hold a mobility premium due to highly portable skills. They are eight times more likely to move across borders than the average LinkedIn member,” the report said.
LinkedIn Ireland country manager Cara O’Leary said Ireland remained “more resilient” than many of its European peers in spite of the stall in hiring.
“While some sectors might be seeing a lull in new hires, there are other industries that are on the front foot like financial services and healthcare, where opportunity abounds despite the broader cautious jobs market,” she said.
“Our latest data continues to show the magnetic power of flexible work to attract prospective talent. Ireland dominates the European ranks for remote job postings and coming a close second for hybrid roles.
“The volume of applications for remote positions underlines their desirability and sends a clear signal that flexibility is a key differentiator to hiring companies.
“Alongside this, employers are eyeing up specialist talent, particularly professionals with expertise in AI agents, AI strategy and large language model operations.
“Given that many of these roles did not exist five years ago, AI professionals are in a position to command a clear premium.”
By way of example, O’Leary said AI engineering professionals were “significantly more mobile” than the wider workforce.
