Data from Morgan McKinley suggests that job applicants may have tough times ahead, in an environment that is slowly moving in favor of the employer.
Irish professional services firm Morgan Mckinley has today (14 July) published the latest Morgan McKinley Ireland Employment Monitor, which examines the Irish professional job market.
The report found that the current employment situation presents some challenges for job applicants, especially as wage pressure on employers decreases and hiring continues to decline.
Job openings in Ireland fell by 7.2pc in Q2 2026 and are shown to have fallen by around 10pc year-on-year. Although the number of jobseekers fell by 6.8pc quarter on quarter, the figure is still 18.4pc higher than last year.
According to Morgan McKinley, this data shows a disciplined, employer-led market, where employers are still hiring but a permanent headcount may be difficult as organizations prioritize costs, productivity and workforce planning.
The report said, “Q2 was not a broad downturn, but marked a reset in disciplined hiring. Demand remained strong in roles linked to governance, risk, infrastructure, transformation, AI, data and special project delivery. Broad increases and non-essential hiring were difficult to justify.”
Trayc Keevans, global FDI director for Morgan McKinley Ireland, said, “The professional recruitment market is entering a more disciplined phase. Recruiters remain active but are placing more emphasis on careful recruitment. Companies still have work to deliver, but are very cautious about adding permanent staff.
“That’s why hiring plans are slow and vacancies are shrinking, as organizations balance ambitions for growth and cost management, while. contract talent continues to provide the flexibility that many businesses need.
“The result is a clear shift in negotiating power. Employers have more choice, salary pressure has eased and candidates now have to work harder to demonstrate why they should be hired. A strong CV is no longer enough on its own. Employers want evidence of impact, whether that’s improving performance, adding value, reducing risk, managing change, or helping the business to be more productive.”
Flexibility
Not wanting to sit still, Morgan McKinley found that employers are eager to keep projects moving forward, without the financial obligation to add a permanent workforce. As a result the report noted that contract and temporary employment is on the rise, especially in all technology, life sciences, multilingual roles, marketing, supply chain, projects, transformation and change.
Anticipation to return to the office has also been strengthened. As companies continue to facilitate hybrid working, data shows that three days in the office is becoming the default and most employers are moving closer to the first four or five days on site. Morgan McKinley suggested that this creates a conflict between candidates who still place a high value on flexibility.
Keevans explained that AI gives employers reason to rethink this current role structure.
He said, “If parts of the job can be automated, simplified or taken over by existing teams, employers will question whether that role needs to be replaced in the same way.
“That doesn’t mean AI is about to eliminate professional jobs. The immediate impact is fewer automations, more pressure on routine administrative and operational work and greater value placed on judgment, commercial thinking, control, customer management and technical knowledge.
“The danger for employers is the false caution of strategy. If they hold back too much, they may find themselves short of the skills they need when momentum returns.”
Sector by sector
Looking closely at how different industries performed, technology recruitment remained active but was more selective in Q2, with strong demand for Dublin-based contract roles in AI engineering, full-stack development, data, cloud, DevOps and governance.
The financial services space was also found to be unchanged, although careful, recruitment efforts are mainly focused on exchange functions, internal continuity and professional skills related to regulations and customer demand.
Risk, compliance, regulatory reporting, credit risk, AML, KYC, pensions and financial crime remained active areas, while climate, green energy and infrastructure projects supported demand for corporate finance, financial modeling and lending technology.
Perhaps not surprisingly, given the nature of work and the continued growth of contract employment, a report by Morgan McKinley showed that employers are relying on temporary and contract talent to balance project delivery in the life sciences and engineering sector. Demand has been particularly strong across QC, quality assurance, clinical trials, automation, validation and process engineering.
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