The job market post Covid-19 in Ireland

Well, where do we start?  At the beginning of 2020, we were cresting on the wave of full-employment.  Recruiters were struggling to get quality candidates.  Fast-forward to May 2020 – there are around 1/4 of the population on some form of welfare support.

While some industries are slowly coming back to life – construction for example and some other retail, other than essential supplies, we have a long way to go in the majority of most other sectors including tourism and hospitality.

For those fortunate employees, currently having the balance of their salaries covered by the Government, if and when they do return to ‘active service’, those employees will no doubt feel a wave of loyalty to their employers and will probably not be prised out of those companies for a few years.

For those returners to work – those that have taken time out of the rat-race for whatever reason and the cohort of younger, less experienced people – the future does not look entirely clear.  The gig economy has been a much maligned feature of the Irish scene and it will  be exacerbated by the fallout of the Covid-19.  Companies will be reluctant to commit to full-timer permanent employees, unless they’re in those constant professions – such as legal, accountancy.

What I would advise is, that it will be survival of the fittest for a while. It will come down to those who take the time and effort to work on the CV, their online platforms and reputations and understand how best to navigate the digital job boards and those that can utilise their own professional networks, who will rise to the top of the ever-growing pile of job seekers.