The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by employers is reshaping jobs rather than removing them outright, according to a report from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley Ireland.
The latest Quarterly Employment Monitor report found that AI is changing who gets hired and at what level.
"We are seeing more diversified hiring at graduate and entry level, particularly where automation is replacing transactional or junior work, while demand for experienced and specialist talent remains strong," according to Morgan McKinley.
In accounting and finance, the report found that AI reduced demand for lower-value transactional roles in professional services firms, accelerating the shift towards systems expertise, analytical capability, and commercial insight.
In the technology sector, graduate and junior hiring was cautious, reflecting both AI adoption and tighter training budgets, while experienced candidates continued to be actively sought.
Marketing showed one of the clearest examples of AI-driven displacement, according to the data, with content writing increasingly deprioritised as AI tools absorbed routine production work.
As a result, content-focused and junior roles continued to contract, while demand shifted towards strategy, performance marketing, and project management capability.
The report showed that in the fourth quarter of last year, professional job vacancies declined by 11.9% quarter-on-quarter, and were 1.9% lower than in Q4 2024.
"Workforce adjustments continued to take place quietly through attrition and contract non renewals, rather than large scale redundancies," according to the report.
Global Foreign Direct Investment Director at Morgan McKinley Trayc Keevans said the final quarter of the year marked a clear turning point in how organisations approach hiring.
"Q4 confirms that the Irish labour market has entered a more disciplined and mature phase," Ms Keevans said.
"Employers are not pulling back, but they are being far more deliberate about where they hire."
"Demand has narrowed around critical skills, experienced talent and roles that directly support delivery, productivity and growth," she added.
The data is based on new job vacancies and new candidates registered with Morgan McKinley's network of Irish offices in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
