While the majority of managers across finance, technical, office support and IT functions in Ireland expect basic salaries to remain flat in 2011, a quarter believe salaries will rise.
Only 10pc of IT workers fear their salaries will fall this year. “The IT sector is particularly buoyant and should be the ‘sector to watch’ in 2011,” said Karen O’Flaherty, chief operations officer of Premier Group Ireland.
In a change of tone for the Irish economy, the Morgan McKinley Employment Monitor found that almost 43pc of respondents expect their organisations to hire new staff over the next 12 months.
The majority of the 723 senior-level operational and HR managers predict staff in their organisations will increase by up to 5pc of the current headcount.
The volume of professional job vacancies in Ireland decreased by 12pc from November to December 2010.
However, there was a 14pc increase when compared to job opportunities in December 2009.
The number of professionals beginning their job search in Ireland dropped dramatically in December 2010, with a 51pc decrease from November 2010 and a 29pc decrease year-on-year from December.
Buoyant IT sector
“During the downturn, a number of companies froze some or all elements of their compensation packages in order to manage costs in the short term,” O’Flaherty said. “As the market recovers, more businesses are seeking advice on their remuneration structures, indicating a renewed focus on pay and rewards.
“In a more positive indicator for the Irish jobs market, 42.8pc of managers said that their organisations plan to recruit new staff in 2011. It is expected that multinational companies will be the main drivers of this hiring activity, as many continue to restructure and rebuild their teams after significant job cuts in 2008-09.
“The IT sector is particularly buoyant and should be the ‘sector to watch’ in 2011. Demand for temporary, interim and contract professionals is set to remain strong across all industries, as fiscal pressures force hiring managers to seek more flexible and cost-effective recruitment solutions,” O’Flaherty added.
