Employment vacancies rose in the economy as a whole during February but a there was a sharp fall in vacancies in the construction sector, which employs more than 250,000 people.
According to the Fás/ Economic and Social Research Institute employment and vacancies survey, published yesterday, the percentage of firms reporting new jobs rose across all sectors from 14 per cent in January to 17 per cent in February. The equivalent number for construction fell from 15 per cent to 9 per cent.
The survey findings mean that, while they remain positive, employers' views about future job creation in the construction sector may have passed peak levels.
The "net employment expectations" indicator for the sector, which measures expected job creation in coming months, remained positive but was four percentage points lower than in January.
The equivalent measure for the industrial sector also fell from a neutral level of zero to minus two, indicating negative sentiment. Expectations for new jobs in the retail sector were positive and improved, with a five point reading in February.
Employers continue to have difficulty in finding workers in several key sectors. In spite of a more pessimistic outlook in construction, there remains a shortage of site supervisors and quantity surveyors. The retail sector suffered a shortage of management staff.
