Gerard Brady, its chief economist, said the softening can be seen in a number of indicators, including Ibec’s own surveys of members, which indicate slower hiring.
“We expect employment, which has grown at a remarkable rate in recent years, to slow below 2pc next year,” he said.
One of the Ibec surveys showed that the share of firms expecting to increase their staff headcount next year stands at 37pc, down from 41pc a year ago.
Other indications of a slight slowdown are that monthly unemployment figures increased marginally in the last quarter, and there’s been a reduction in the number of position remaining open and unfilled in the private sector.
There was also a sharp decline in the number of work permits granted in the second quarter of this year, particularly among healthcare, ICT and agriculture workers.
The Irish economy is continuing to add jobs, Ibec’s outlook points out, with 24,000 net employments created in the second quarter of this year relative to the first quarter.
“The increase in both unemployment and net jobs is explained by growth in the labour force in the first half of the year, not all of which translated into immediate employment,” it says. “While full-time employment continued to grow, softening can be seen within part-time employment, which fell by 2pc between the first and second quarters.”
There has also been a slowing in FDI, while business investment decisions have been delayed due to the turbulence caused by President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
“In a similar trend, jobs postings and new job creation have slowed somewhat. There was an additional 42,000 jobs created in the first half of the year, compared to 48,000 over the same period in 2024,” Ibec’s commentary says.
“Looking to the future, a challenging business environment and the lagged effect of delayed investment decisions in the first half of the year will likely weigh on employment growth for the remainder of the year.”
Rates of remote work remain largely unchanged over the past year. ICT has the highest rates of remote work, with 83pc of employees working from home at least some of the time, up from 81pc last year.
While the share of employees working remotely has increased in finance, insurance and real estate, the percentage doing most of their work at home has fallen from 56pc to 50pc.
“The overall trend is one of increased hybrid work but a marginal decrease in working always or mostly from home, with additional days in office required,” the Ibec commentary concludes.
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