Engineering jobs grew by 20pc this year, and employers are increasingly looking for recruits with soft skills.
IrishJobs has published the Hiring Trends Update, a new biannual research report exploring the trends impacting Ireland’s recruitment market.
In partnership with the Stepstone Group, which is the parent company of IrishJobs, data was collected from 500 employers and 1,000 professionals across the country.
The research revealed that nearly one-quarter of participating employers plan to increase hiring in 2026, indicating a positive increase in confidence, following a period of heightened geopolitical and trade volatility.
Smaller organisations were found to be more cautious, with 21pc of SMEs forecasting an increase in new year hiring, compared to 27pc of larger companies. Furthermore, 21pc of employers plan to increase spending towards hiring for specialist roles, with 19pc investing in the recruitment for temporary and contract roles.
There is however evidence of a cool down in certain areas of the labour market. Almost a quarter of contributing employers stated they have had to restructure certain teams and departments in the last six months.
Additionally, there are challenges associated with the pace of hiring. The report suggests that a tight talent landscape is having a negative effect on the length of time it takes to successfully recruit personnel. The median time is roughly 10 weeks and can often be impacted by a struggle to source the right kind of candidate.
Seven out of 10 employers said that finding applicants with the skills to future-proof operations was difficult. Though hard skills such as AI and data analysis are in high demand, employers are also increasingly prioritising candidates with softer skills such as people management and leadership.
Jobseekers market
The results of the report also indicate that jobseeker activity is robust, with 21pc of contributing professionals having actively looked for alternative employment in September 2025. Nearly 30pc of those surveyed intend to look for a new job in 2026.
Salary emerged as the top contributing factor for those evaluating a new job and 31pc explained that work-life balance is the second most important topic to consider when job hunting.
For jobseekers, IrishJobs’ research showed that the education sector experienced the highest increase of (33pc) in job growth over the past six months. This was closely followed by social care (30pc), management (29pc), consulting (26pc) and customer service (23pc).
Findings also revealed that the IT sector experienced a 20pc increase in job growth, with software engineer, data engineer and site reliability engineer being the most in-demand jobs in the sector.
Commenting on the report, Christopher Paye, the country director of The Stepstone Group Ireland, with responsibility for IrishJobs, said, “The launch of the first IrishJobs Hiring Trends Updates provides an important insight into the recruitment landscape during a period of volatility for the Irish economy and workforce.
“It’s clear from the findings that confidence is beginning to return among employers in many industries following the trade agreement between the EU and the US. Nearly one in four employers expect to increase hiring in the months ahead, an indicator that a more stable and positive trajectory for the jobs market lies ahead.
“With jobseeker activity set to rise in the months ahead, employers should consider reviewing their employee offering to ensure they remain attractive to high-calibre talent. Jobseekers are increasingly looking beyond salary and considering a broad range of criteria when deciding on a new role.”
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