Professional job opportunities fell by 11% to 13,173 between January and February of this year, according to the latest Morgan McKinley Monthly Employment Monitor.
The February report shows the number of professionals seeking jobs dropped by 2% last month but is 14% higher than the same month in 2015.
Significant talent shortages within the food, pharma, and medical devices sectors have been identified, particularly across engineering and quality roles.
The monitor also found IT remains a key driver of the high skills jobs market, while the tech start-up sector is attracting significant numbers of IT professionals with share options and flexible packages.
Meanwhile, other notable results include intense competition to recruit ACA qualified accountants, with starting salaries ranging from €40,000-€50,000.
Roles in construction and building services have increased by 40% in the last 12 months, while multilingual professional remain highly sought after, especially German speakers.
Commenting on the monitor results, Morgan McKinley Ireland Operations Director Bryan Hyland said: “January 2016 represented an exceptionally strong and confident start to the hiring outlook.
“This month we have seen a levelling off of this intensity. All economic indicators remain positive for steady job growth this year; however any prolonged period of political uncertainty would not be welcome and could have the potential to impact inward investment decisions of FDI companies,” he added.
The data for the monitor is compiled by tracking the number of new job vacancies and new candidates across the country each month.
