The number of new professional job opportunities in Ireland was down 4% in July – following an alternate 5% rise, fall and then rise again in the previous three months.

As recruiter.co.uk noted in June, the jobs market has had a tendency to alternate between small but substantial contractions and periods of growth.

The number of new jobs available in July was 7,953, down from 8,302 the previous months, but up by just under 1% compared to the same month in the previous years.

This comes alongside a large rise of 23% in the number of professionals seeking new career opportunities compared to July 2011, reaching 11,365.

Morgan McKinley Ireland chief operations officer Karen O’Flaherty notes the IT and computing sector and the life sciences industries as areas “where skilled professionals continue to be in demand”, as new investments and company growth continues.

O’Flaherty also notes “an increase in temporary and contract opportunities”, although this survey only looks at permanent roles.