Christmas and seasonal job postings in Ireland have increased by 11% compared to last year according to new data published by jobs site Indeed.

According to Indeed’s data, there was a surge in postings for Christmas related roles in the early Autumn, as businesses prepare for the busy festive period. The seasonal roles advertised to date are predominantly customer-facing sales jobs in the retail sector (73%). Indeed also reported hiring for other retail sector jobs focused on stocking, merchandising, driving and warehouse work.

Meanwhile, 2% of the jobs posted are for the hospitality sector, while jobs that required the successful candidate to dress up as Santa, Mrs Claus or an elf accounted for 4% of the postings.

Pawel Adrjan, economist at Indeed, said that Christmas jobs postings on the website soared earlier and faster than in 2017. Adrjan commented, "This is likely to be boosted by other seasonal retail events such as Black Friday, which happens in November.”

"Demand for seasonal employment is increasing against a backdrop of record low unemployment, which makes it harder for businesses to find employees for temporary roles," Adrjan said.

According to data from Eurostat, Ireland’s unemployment rate stood at 5.4% in September.