Around 12% of firms in the private sector reported job vacancies last month, compared with 20% in January, with fewer openings in the services and construction sectors.
According to the latest FÁS/ESRI employment and vacancies survey, the proportion of service sector firms with vacancies slipped 11 percentage points to 16%.
Following a sharp increase in January, the percentage of construction sector firms reporting vacancies fell by six percentage points to 13%.
Reported vacancies in the industry and retail sectors fell slightly to 15% and 2% respectively.
The net employment expectations indicator for all sectors improved to 2% from -1% in the previous month, indicating that slightly more employers expect a rise in employment levels over the coming months, than those predicting a decrease.
The improvement was mainly driven by the services sector, which was the only one with positive employment expectations. The expectations in the retail sector improved, but remained negative at -8%.
The employment expectations of construction sector employers fell, with the net employment expectations indicate down 10 percentage points to -4%.
According to the survey findings, the most frequently reported difficult-to-fill vacancies in each sector were: quantity surveyors and managers (construction sector), engineers and sales personnel (industry), sales staff and garage personnel (retail), drivers, accountants and travel consultants (services).
