As Brexit looms, IrishJobs.ie statistics show significant growth in the number of UK job applications for Irish-based roles in 2018, up 34% on the previous year.
UK application growth rose significantly across a number of industries in 2018. Information Technology roles saw the largest increase in applications from the UK (+47%) followed by construction, architecture and property (+46%) and public sector roles (+45%).
Visits from the UK accounted for 27% of total overseas traffic to the site in 2018.
Brexit-fuelled jobs and investment migration
The last twelve months has seen Ireland experience an influx of major corporates relocating their EMEA headquarters or expanding existing Irish operations.
According to IDA figures published on 3 January, there were 55 significant Brexit-related investments made by multinationals in Ireland in 2018, creating more than 4,500 new jobs. These investments look set to continue as Brexit draws closer.
Financial services firm EY’s Brexit Tracker, published earlier this month, named Dublin as the top ‘Brexodus’ destination in the EU, ahead of the likes of Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid and Amsterdam.
In August 2018, UK financial institution Barclays began to move direct ownership of its French, German and Spanish branches from a UK-based entity to its new Irish headquarters.
On 10 January, French insurance group AXA announced its intention to relocate a yet-to-be-confirmed number of its senior UK staff to its Irish operations over the coming months.
Rise in applications for IT, Contruction and Public Sector jobs
Safann MacCarthy, Marketing Director, at IrishJobs.ie comments;
“As the Brexit deadline draws closer, Ireland is seeing a huge influx of investment from UK and multinational companies seeking to relocate or expand in Ireland.
“Equally, our statistics show that people movement is matching that shift. 2018 marks the highest increase we’ve seen in UK applications for Irish-based roles and the current political climate indicates that this growth is set to continue into 2019.
“Ireland offers stability, well-paid jobs, a world-renowned education system, and access to the EU. These are attractive traits for mobile professionals.”
The number of UK applications rose significantly for IT, construction and public sector roles.
Analysing the trend, Ms MacCarthy says;
“Ireland has gained a reputation as a global technology hub of choice for multinational companies and as such, is of increasing interest to overseas job-seekers in the IT sector. Equally, tech companies are actively looking beyond Ireland for talent to fill roles that require a niche skillset that may not be available in the Irish market.
The current construction boom in response to the rapid population growth of our cities and towns has resulted in 21% year-on-year growth in construction vacancies. These roles are attractive propositions for UK-based construction workers eager to capitalise on rising salaries and the competitive Euro to Sterling exchange rate.”
Overseas visits to IrishJobs.ie accounted for 17% of the total traffic to the site in 2018.