{"id":149473,"date":"2025-10-28T11:54:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T11:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/149473\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T11:54:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T11:54:14","slug":"labour-demand-hits-four-year-low-as-job-adverts-fall-to-pandemic-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/149473\/","title":{"rendered":"Labour demand hits four-year low as job adverts fall to pandemic levels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Labour demand has hit a four-year low, as job advert numbers fell to levels not seen since the middle of the pandemic, Extra.ie can reveal.<\/p>\n

A softening in labour demand was expected after a spike in the post-COVID years, but external factors, such as declining disposable incomes and US tariffs, have accelerated the fall in new job listings.<\/p>\n

Economists have warned that not enough was done in the Budget to address these factors, which could stall recovery in the labour market. Figures presented to Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe<\/a> a month before the Budget \u2013 which were obtained by this newspaper \u2013 warned that continued economic uncertainty risked employment growth this year.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pic: Leah Farrell \/ \u00c2\u00a9 RollingNews.ie<\/p>\n

It was one of the main risks Mr Donohoe would repeatedly claim was present during tariff negotiations between the EU and the US last summer. The presentations given to the minister, detailing unemployment statistics between June and August, were released through the Freedom of Information laws.<\/p>\n

In August, according to the documents, job demand fell to roughly 6% and the rate of new listings began to soften. Similar levels have not been seen since the middle of 2021, between lockdowns, but while restrictions were still in place.<\/p>\n

Leading economist Austin Hughes said the market is in a \u2018cooling\u2019 stage, brought on following a dramatic rise in employment after the end of restrictions. He said, however, that Irish companies are likely to continue delaying hiring new staff, based on external factors out of their control.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pic: Getty<\/p>\n

These include households feeling the squeeze and seeing a drop in disposable income, as well as ongoing uncertainty due to US tariffs and other trade measures.<\/p>\n

Mr Hughes said multinational firms will likely \u2018pause\u2019 hiring because of the level of uncertainty. \u2018The situation now is it\u2019s probably more prudent to postpone something you can do tomorrow, rather than trying to get the workers in today,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Fewer cost-of-living measures and the lack of an income tax package in the Budget have also increased unease among households, preventing Irish firms from projecting their future performance.<\/p>\n

\"\"Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe with Budget 2026. Pic: Fran Veale<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index<\/a> reported that more households are beginning to \u2018feel bad\u2019 about spending due to the lack of support in Budget 2026. Only one in three households expects to earn a higher income next year, and the lack of tax cuts has pulled back consumer spending power.<\/p>\n

The Government billed the Budget as a range of packages to protect jobs. It did so by announcing plans to reduce VAT for food-based hospitality firms to 9% from March 2026. This came at the cost of an income tax package for workers and put an end to once-off payments, such as energy credits.<\/p>\n

Mr Hughes said: \u2018The issue is what happens next. The concern would be that there is further [decline] in domestic spending, as a result of the Budget taking money out of people\u2019s pockets, and more hesitation on the part of multinationals because\u2026 There is still the element of Trump waking up and thinking something different every day. It\u2019s not a climate where you accelerate hiring.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"Pic: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Mr Hughes said tariffs have contributed to general uncertainty among domestic companies and multinational firms, which the State is reliant on for high tax receipts.<\/p>\n

He added: \u2018There\u2019s increased uncertainty, evidence of slowing down in economic growth and cost pressures. This means companies are being more careful in their hiring.\u2019<\/p>\n

A reduction on labour demand is \u2018no great negative\u2019, Mr Hughes said, adding that there was a period after the pandemic when the jobs market was \u2018really buoyant\u2019.<\/p>\n

Dr Laura Brambrick, head of social and employment policy at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), said a slowdown was expected due to rapid post-pandemic growth. But the reduction in labour demand rates may have been accelerated by lower levels of consumer confidence and increased uncertainty.<\/p>\n

One economist, who spoke anonymously, said a two-sided approach to protect businesses and cut taxes was needed in Budget 2026 to prevent future, sharp reductions in labour demands and overall economic activity.<\/p>\n

Dr Brambrick claimed some consumers lost confidence in their spending plans because of lobbying by industries such as the hospitality sector.<\/p>\n

She said: \u2018Employers who are thinking about expanding might say, \u201cWe will wait until we have more clarity\u201d. That then expands into households thinking, \u201cWill we really move into that new house, or build that extension, or will we be better off saving that money?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018A lot of the uncertainty [from tariffs] hasn\u2019t materialised\u2026 But, at the time, over this year, we didn\u2019t know what we were going to be dealing with \u2013 especially in the international sector, which we are reliant on for corporation and income tax.\u2019<\/p>\n

The ICTU argued after the Budget that jobs within the hospitality sector did not need additional investment or supports. It pointed to tax receipts the State receives from the sector, comparing them to those of multinationals, and suggested supports were better placed elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Dr Brambrick said the lack of a tax package has \u2018created a vicious cycle of caution and nervousness\u2019 among households. She said that if you take the Government at its word, the jobs market will remain stable next year, but families will likely be down \u2018hundreds of euros each month\u2019.<\/p>\n

Mr Hughes said: \u2018All of these elements are combining to give us this uptick [in unemployment], so far, rather than a dramatic change in the jobs market \u2013 it is getting cooler out there.\u2019<\/p>\n

Unemployment was recorded at 4% in June, but that was later revised to 4.6%. In a memo to Mr Donohoe, detailing July\u2019s unemployment levels, the rate rose to 4.9%. This declined to 4.7% in August, but these rates were subject to revision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Labour demand has hit a four-year low, as job advert numbers fell to levels not seen since the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149474,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[174],"tags":[79,179,18,19,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-149473","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115451662843138958","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}