Irish FDI jobs continue to rise despite Brexit uncertainty

Cpl survey reveals strong growth in finance and accounting jobs

Irish businesses may be feeling the effect of the Brexit uncertainty, but the number of jobs being advertised in the Irish foreign direct investment sector continue to rise.

According to the Cpl Jobs index for the fourth quarter, the number of jobs posted has risen steadily, with the index rising to 211 from 198 in 2015.

"Despite the uncertainty that Brexit has cast upon Irish business, the Cpl Employment Market Monitor shows that jobs growth in the FDI sector is continuing in Ireland, " said Peter Cosgrove, director of Cpl Resources.

“The seasonal drop in growth to 7 per cent in the final quarter is not unusual, despite growth reaching 10 per cent earlier in the year. Overall, there has been year-on-year growth in jobs posted for each of the 20 quarters covered in the report.”

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The strongest growth was seen in the accountancy, finance and banking sector, which grew 25 per cent year-on-year, followed by sales and marketing at 20 per cent, with 13 per cent growth in science, engineering and supply chain. The latter saw jobs posted remain more than four times the 2011 level.

But there was less positive news for existing employees, with less than half expecting a payrise this year. Just over half believe a small bonus – performance related, of course – would help them get over the January blues, with just over a third settling for an early finish on a Friday instead.

There is also an ongoing issue with the gender pay gap, with almost half of those surveyed saying they believed men were paid more than women. According to Eurostat figures, there is currently a 14.4 per cent pay gap between men and women in Ireland.

The Cpl survey also found about half of people think they are in the wrong career, while two thirds would be willing to take a paycut to get flexible work arrangements.

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist