We regularly update this report to track the pandemic’s effects on the labour market. 

Irish job postings on Indeed remain elevated. Job postings — a real-time measure of labour market activity — were 57% above the 1 February, 2020, pre-pandemic baseline, seasonally adjusted, as of 19 August, 2022. The headline index has shown a broadly flat trend since mid-May, signalling resilience in the face of economic headwinds as cost of living pressures rise. 

A line graph titled “Job postings on Indeed, Ireland” showing the percentage change in job postings on Indeed Ireland since 01 Feb 2020, seasonally adjusted, to 12 August 2022.
A line graph titled “Job postings on Indeed, Ireland” showing the percentage change in job postings on Indeed Ireland since 01 Feb 2020, seasonally adjusted, to 12 August 2022. There was a 57% change in job postings on Indeed Ireland from 01 Feb 2020 to 12 August 2022.

Some occupations are booming while others lag

We continue to see considerable variation in the strength of job posting recoveries across occupational categories. Social science, therapy, medical information and community & social service job postings are well above pre-pandemic levels. 

In contrast, three categories have job postings below pre-pandemic levels, namely chemical engineering, real estate and legal. 

Table titled “Some occupations are booming while others lag.”
Table titled “Some occupations are booming while others lag.” Indeed compared the percent change in Irish job postings, between 1 February, 2020, and 12 August 2022 across various sectors divided into sections “Better than economy average,” and “Worse than economy average.” The strongest performers were social science and therapy, while the weakest performers were chemical engineering and real estate.

Kildare maintains lead

Looking across the five largest counties by job posting volume, County Kildare continues to lead, with job postings 113% above the pre-pandemic baseline. Dublin is the laggard, at 39% above the baseline.

A line graph titled “Kildare has strongest job postings recovery” showing a breakdown of the percentage change in job postings on Indeed Ireland since 1 Feb 2020, seasonally adjusted, to 29 July 2022, by the five largest counties by job posting volume.
A line graph titled “Kildare has strongest job postings recovery” showing a breakdown of the percentage change in job postings on Indeed Ireland since 1 Feb 2020, seasonally adjusted, to 29 July 2022, by the five largest counties by job posting volume. Kildare had the highest increase at 113%, while Dublin was the weakest performer at 39%.

We will continue to provide regular updates on these trends as the situation evolves. We also host the data behind the postings trends plots on Github as downloadable CSV files. Typically, the site will be updated with the latest data one day after the respective Hiring Lab tracker is published.

Methodology

All figures in this blogpost are the percentage change in seasonally-adjusted job postings since 1 February, 2020, using a seven-day trailing average. 1 February, 2020, is our pre-pandemic baseline. We seasonally adjust each series based on historical patterns in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Each series, including the national trend, occupational sectors, and sub-national geographies, is seasonally adjusted separately. We adopted this new methodology in January 2021. 

The number of job postings on Indeed.com, whether related to paid or unpaid job solicitations, is not indicative of potential revenue or earnings of Indeed, which comprises a significant percentage of the HR Technology segment of its parent company, Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Job posting numbers are provided for information purposes only and should not be viewed as an indicator of performance of Indeed or Recruit. Please refer to the Recruit Holdings investor relations website and regulatory filings in Japan for more detailed information on revenue generation by Recruit’s HR Technology segment.