The number of job vacancies in the Republic fell last month, reflecting a significant decline in the number of positions vacant in the services sector, figures released yesterday showed.

According to the latest Fás/ESRI Employment and Vacancies Survey, the number of companies reporting positions vacant fell to 16 per cent in December from 19 per cent in November.

The proportion of service sector firms reporting vacancies fell 9 percentage points to 18 per cent, while in the industrial sector the percentage of companies with vacancies fell 2 percentage points to 16 per cent. Vacancies in the construction sector were steady with 13 per cent of companies reporting positions vacant.

However, despite declines in most industries, the retail sector bucked the trend last month, with the percentage of firms reporting vacancies reaching 7 per cent, its second-highest level since June 2004.

The decline in positions vacant goes hand in hand with pessimistic sentiment among employers, according to the survey.

The expectations indicator for all sectors in the economy fell by 4 percentage points to minus 6 per cent, indicating that 6 per cent more firms in the economy believe that employment levels in their companies will decrease rather than increase in the near future.

A separate survey by Dublin City University (DCU) showed that job vacancies in the IT sector increased by 14 per cent, to 9,200, in the seven months since last May, when the figure stood at 8,100.

The university attributed the staff shortages to the declining numbers of graduates taking computing and technology courses following the collapse of the dotcom boom and warned that if something is not done, then in the future more than 60 per cent of jobs created in the sector will be taken up by immigrants.

These reports come only a day after data from the Central Statistics Office showed that the number of people on the Live Register fell by more than 1,000 in December, indicating the unemployment rate in the Republic is holding steady at one of the lowest rates in the EU.

This low rate led to some confusion at the end of the year when income tax receipts came in lower than expected, a fate some commentators attributed to the fact that most of the new jobs created were relatively low-paid positions.

In an analysis of the receipts, Davy said yesterday there is no evidence to suggest that most of the new jobs were low paid and that with 5 per cent employment growth last year and wage growth of more than that level, it is not possible to establish a link between the migrant labour force and disappointing income tax returns.

As far as Davy is concerned, the influx of migrant workers is positive for the Irish economy.