A manpower survey shows almost two-thirds of Irish companies will not be taking on staff in the third quarter of this year. One in ten companies said they anticipated laying off staff over the next few months.
A manpower survey shows almost two-thirds of Irish companies will not be taking on staff in the third quarter of this year.
One in ten companies said they anticipated laying off staff over the next few months.
However, 21 per cent of companies said they would be increasing employment levels.
The survey of 500 companies across 11 industry sectors in Northern Ireland and the Republic was carried out by Manpower Ireland.
Overall, the results show falling confidence in Irish employment growth. The findings show a net jobs gain of 12 per cent, down from 23 per cent in the second quarter.
The largest falls in jobs gains are experienced by wholesale with a drop of 18 per cent; business services falling 12 per cent to 26 per cent and manufacturing which is down 10 per cent.
The IT sector continues to show strong signs of recovery. The survey shows that 26 per cent of companies expect to take on IT staff.
According to Mr Jason Kennedy of The Manpower Group the pattern of job growth has begun to slide.
"As in recent quarters, the brunt of the employment decline is in the Manufacturing sector; however seasonal considerations may have impacted on results on both a national and a regional level," he said.