Dublin “continues to underperform” national trends in the jobs market this year, reflecting its greater exposure to the tech industry, which has been shedding jobs and experiencing some of the biggest declines in postings, according to new data from Indeed.
The job platform’s 2025 Ireland Mid-Year Market Update shows Dublin postings sit 13 per cent below their pre-pandemic baseline. While Irish job postings stabilised in May, Dublin remains the country’s only big hub with postings below pre‑pandemic levels.
This is largely due to its concentration of “certain white collar occupations”, such as tech, which have “softened lately”, the group’s senior economist Jack Kennedy told The Irish Times.
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“Dublin’s lag in job postings compared to the rest of Ireland reflects both sectoral shifts and evolving workplace trends,” he said.
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Mr Kennedy said the trend reflects a broader geographic rebalancing post-Covid as employers look to location flexibility to “tap into talent” across the country.
Remote and hybrid work remains close to peak levels at almost 17 per cent – more than four times higher than pre-pandemic levels, despite some organisations announcing stricter office attendance policies in recent months.
This suggests firms are “increasingly open” to hiring outside Dublin, Mr Kennedy said, with the constrained housing market in the capital also playing a role.
“With increasing housing strain particularly prevalent in Dublin, remote hiring can win some companies favour with harder to obtain candidates, especially where talent pools remain tight,” he added.
Of the country’s five largest counties, job postings in Kildare are furthest above their pre-pandemic baseline at 29 per cent as of early June.
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Job postings nationally continue to “gradually retreat” from peaks, though they remained 8 per cent above their pre-pandemic baseline as of June. Postings stabilised and grew 1.5 per cent over the month following signs of an accelerated dip in April.
“These tight labour market conditions continue to grant workers significant leverage over pay and conditions,” Indeed’s review noted.
Year-on-year posted wage growth as measured by the group was 4.2 per cent in April on a three-month average basis. That pace is comfortably above the euro area average of 3 per cent over the same period, though below the 5.6 per cent seen in the UK.
Indeed said Ireland remains “a magnet for foreign talent”, with 12.3 per cent of searches for Irish jobs on the platform coming from overseas.
The research also shows considerable variation in sectoral strength. Some categories have job postings well above pre-pandemic levels, including: therapy; cleaning and sanitation; education and instruction; and installation and maintenance.
Occupations where postings are furthest below the baseline include: arts and entertainment; marketing; IT operation and help desk; and mathematics.
On the risks to Ireland’s labour market from US president Donald Trump’s tariffs, Indeed said companies “may be reluctant” to shed too many staff given ongoing “significant skills shortages” in certain areas.
