According to the FÁS/ESRI jobs survey for July, the percentage of employers expecting a fall in employment levels in their firms over the coming months is two percentage points higher than those predicting an increase.
Overall, vacancies in businesses in the private sector grew to 17% in July, from 12% in June, mainly driven by available jobs in the services sector.
The percentage of firms reporting vacancies in the construction sector rose two percentage points to 10% in the month, however the future outlook for the sector deteriorated to its most pessimistic level since the survey began in May 2002.
The survey showed that the net employment expectations indicator for the sector fell to minus -21% in July.
Overall, the general net employment expectations indicator - which indicates firms' expected hiring patterns for the coming year - for all sectors fell by 4 percentage points to minus -2%.
In July reported vacancies in the services sector rose by 8 percentage points to 25%, though in the industry sector reported vacancies fell by 5 percentage points to 13% - with the lowest amount of firms reporting jobs to fill since June 2005.
The expectations of employers in industry regarding future employment levels also declined as did those in the retail sector.
Overall future sentiment in the services sector waned in July, but still remained optimistic.
Employers said that among the hardest jobs to fill in July were quantify surveyors, engineers, mechanics and catering personnel.
