Updated / 17th December, 2025

The greatest pressure in the labour market is now around skills and artificial intelligence-related roles, not a lack of jobs, it shows.

More recruiters reported growth than decline in vacancies across permanent and temporary roles during October, while pay levels remained broadly flat.

Emerging technologies such as AI are adding further pressure to the skills pipeline with jobs and salaries in the area continuing to reach new highs.

“The data shows a steady market where jobs are still being created and filled but the real constraint now is skills, not demand for staff,” said ERF president Siobhan Kinsella.

The report said the AI sector is one of the fastest growing in Ireland with salaries for AI engineers now broadly in line with leading European markets and up to 40,000 roles projected to become available by 2030, heavenly linked to the technology.

“AI is already reshaping how companies hire, manage people and deliver services. That creates huge opportunity, but it also intensifies the competition for talent,” Ms Kinsella said.

However the employment sector still looked positive as more than a third of recruiters reported an increase in permanent vacancies in October compared with the previous month, while 38pc said vacancy levels were unchanged and only a quarter reported a fall.

Pay was largely steady in permanent and temporary jobs, with over 80pc of recruiters in each segment reporting no change in salaries or rates over the past three months.

The October findings sit alongside quarterly labour market data that puts total employment at almost 2.81 million, one of the highest employment levels ever recorded in Ireland and below the European Union average for unemployment, it said.

At the same time, a record 83pc of businesses report difficulty finding candidates with the right skills, particularly in IT and data, engineering, operations and logistics.

Employees who don’t understand AI are the ones at risk, Ms Kinsella said.

“These are challenging and exciting times, but even where AI leads to job losses or job redesign, we should realise that people in roles which could be at risk are more likely to be replaced by those who understand AI.”