The Morgan McKinley Irish Salary Guide shows that Covid-19 has impacted the way businesses operate like never before, and while some businesses are under serious pressure, others are seeing unprecedented demand for their products or services.
The new guide shows that talent that was in strong demand before the outbreak of Covid-19, such as software engineers, IT auditors, cyber security experts and data and analytics professionals, continues to be sought after.
Morgan McKinley said it expects these professions to still command the upper end of their salary ranges.
It noted that in some cases, companies will see the current uncertainty as an opportunity to recruit talent previously locked up in other companies.
The latest Irish Salary Guide reveals that business sectors that have been performing positively during the pandemic crisis included pharma, medtech, healthcare, payments, e-learning, gaming, the public sector and home entertainment.
"Disciplines such as supply chain and technology remain largely bullet-proof," the guide added.
It also said that as a direct impact of Covid-19, and ongoing Brexit uncertainty before that, demand for all levels of supply chain and procurement professionals shows no signs of abating.
Morgan McKinley said it has seen some early indicators of salary appreciation in pockets of the pharma manufacturing sector where operatives have been financially incentivised because of the risks of Covid-19.
This has varied from a 10% to 50% rise in hourly pay and as a minimum, pay has remained stable for this sector.
In the financial services sector, demand for fund accountants, compliance, asset management and insolvency professionals remain strong.
"Salary levels may grow marginally in these positions, around 10%, to entice and reflect the risk a professional is taking to leave their current position to join another employer in the current environment," it said
But the drop in demand for retail banking professionals and contraction of hiring is expected to see a drop in salaries in the region of 15%.
Meanwhile, salaries and employment in the areas of office support have also been impacted, partly because of the immediate move to remote working of most workforces. As a result, the new guide anticipates a 5 to 15% drop in salaries in this sector over the coming months.
Morgan McKinley noted that the Covid-19 crisis has also hit young people harder and faster than any other group.
"Covid-19 has seen employers reduce or call time on internship programmes and produced a reluctance to commit to hiring graduates with no experience. For this reason, we expect entry level salaries to drop or stabilise in the immediate term," it added.
"Overall, Covid-19 will have a profound impact on future economic activities. As we move into a cautious easement of lockdown conditions with no imminent widespread treatment or vaccination, it is likely that we will have to learn to manage under the threat of recurring restrictions for the foreseeable future," commented Trayc Keevans, Global FDI Director at Morgan McKinley Ireland.
She said that as a result, we can no longer consider Covid-19 to be unprecedented as we move forward.
"This is, for the time being, our new normal," she added.
"We can therefore expect a blended approach from employers to remote and office-based working, offsetting the convenience, reduced overheads, and social connectivity benefits, which both clearly offer. To stay agile, enterprises should also seize new market opportunities to achieve business transformation and stabilise their core business," Ms Keevans said.
Publication of the salary guide had been due for release earlier this year but due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, its release was postponed to allow time to assess the initial impact the crisis is likely to have on salaries for the rest of the year.
