The latest Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor registered a slight decline (2%) in the number of new professional job opportunities from July 2011 (7,900) to August 2011 (7,767).

However, the number of new professional jobs available in August continued the trend of being considerably higher (47%) than the same month last year (5,300).

As for new professional jobseekers in the Irish market, the Employment Monitor recorded a 19% increase, from 9,210 in July 2011 to 10,965 in August 2011. There was a negligible decrease (1%) when compared to the same month last year, when 11,070 people were looking for new professional job opportunities.

Karen O’Flaherty, chief operations officer, Morgan McKinley, says: “The latest figures are as expected; August is traditionally a subdued month for the Irish professional jobs market as many hiring managers and jobseekers take time off over the holiday period.

“This slowdown was also set against a backdrop of global financial volatility. These conditions were reflected by a slight dip (2%) in the number of new professional jobs available compared to July 2011, however increased momentum in the second half of the month was cause for cautious optimism.”

“The IT market continues to set the pace – demand for IT professionals in design and development currently exceeds supply in many areas, and companies with slower recruitment processes are currently at risk of losing out on top talent.

“New IT jobs coming onto the market in August 2011 were from a healthy mix of multinational corporations and indigenous companies, to support a variety of start-up and ramp-up projects.”