The number of job advertisements fell sharply in April 2003 compared to the same month in 2002, according to a new survey from Bank of Ireland.
The bank's new job index tracks the number of jobs advertised in the Irish daily and Sunday newspapers in a month.
The index found 190,000 jobs were advertised over the past 12 months. The number of jobs advertised in April 2003 - when the Iraq war was at its height - was down 18 per cent on April 2002.
It reported only three sectors accounted for half of all job adverts. The sectors that saw the heaviest advertising spend in April 2003 were professionals (19 per cent), construction (16.6 per cent) and healthcare (15.2 per cent).
Speaking at the launch of the index today, Mr Tom Comerford, director Bank of Ireland business banking, said the survey would give a more timely indicator of labour market trends.
Dr Dan McLaughlin, group chief economist at Bank of Ireland, said the job index findings are consistent with CSO and other economic statistics.
He pointed to the March index, which showed employment strong gains in construction and is consistent with the latest CSO data showing employment rising in the building trade.
Dr McLaughlin said the sharp fall in April job adverts may have been distorted by the war in Iraq, although the weakness is particularly pronounced in health and education, implying the cap on public-sector job creation is biting, and that the boom in public sector employment may be over.
Bank of Ireland Business Banking will publish "The Job Index" during the second week of every month.