2022 has been a turbulent and difficult year for many.   In Ireland, we have faced the perfect storm of a cost of living crisis, highest increase of Inflation in over 40 years, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and an interruption and cost hikes in the supply chain.

The main trend and the biggest headache for employers across every sector for 2022 is a shortage of staff at all levels.

Accountancy and finance staff have not avoided this trend ,with a high demand for staff at all levels and a short supply of candidates across all levels.

Particular shortages have occurred across the entire Finance function, in particular for Financial Controllers, Newly Qualified Accountants, Part Qualified accountants, Practice trainees and payrollers leading to salary pressures and spikes across many industries.

Although the news from the Tech Industry over the past few weeks hasn’t been good with redundancies in the area, the job sector overall remains very strong and we have seen continued confidence and growth amongst the Multinational and Irish SME Market.

The key Trend and most asked question from candidates in 2022 has been around ‘ Hybrid and Remote working’ with many employers now adopting and embracing this new flexible week.

 

Key Takeaways from our clients in 2022 are as follows:

• Employers are optimistic about the wider economy
• Recruitment plans continue for the year ahead with permanent jobs on the rise
• The majority of employers focused on increasing and retaining staff in 2022
• Attracting the right talent with the right skills still remains the biggest challenge for employers two years in a row
• Salary increases were firmly on the agenda in 2022 to attract and retain talent
• The future of work is hybrid

 

Our survey in October revealed the following results in relation to Hybrid working:

93% of respondents wanted Working From Home to continue.