Only one-fifth of Irish job postings offer ability to work from home

More than four-fifths of job postings on LinkedIn do not offer candidates the ability to work from home, according to figures in IDA Ireland’s latest Labour Market Pulse report.

Almost one-fifth of Irish job postings offer more flexible work arrangements, which is the highest level among seven countries, including Britain and Germany, compared by LinkedIn. The data may also reflect how employers have started pressing staff to work more in the office after the worst of the pandemic.

Statistics published in April by the Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office, showed that 40 per cent of Irish workers were sometimes or usually working from home last year, compared to about 20 per cent in 2019, before Covid-19 struck.

The latest IDA labour market report, which is compiled in partnership with Microsoft and LinkedIn, found that hiring in the Republic for the first five months of the year was 27 per cent higher than the same period in 2021, even as the economy grappled with concerns about the war in Ukraine, soaring inflation and falling consumer spending.

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A record 2.5 million people were in employment in the Republic as of the end of March, some 8 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, according to Central Statistics Office data.

“Our data shows that hybrid working continues to be a significant factor in attracting talent to organisations, which in turn has led to an evolution in how we collaborate, and a natural uptake in the adoption of digital skills and tools,” said Sharon McCooey, head of LinkedIn Ireland.

The latest data from LinkedIn is based on analysis of the skills added by the platform’s more than two million members in Ireland over the past six years. It reveals that the share of digital skills added by members has risen by almost 20 per cent since 2019 and by almost 30 per cent since 2015.

IDA Ireland chief executive Martin Shanahan said that the hiring rates seen in the first five months of the year demonstrate strong signs of recovery in the wake of the pandemic.

“Even amid the significant uncertainty in today’s global economy it’s highly encouraging to see the unemployment rate returning to below 5 per cent and a strong flow of foreign direct investment into Ireland. In a challenging environment firms throughout the country — from large multinationals to small SMEs — are adapting,” he said.