The number of job vacancies in Ireland decreased by 8% during the third quarter of 2019 when compared to the same period last year, according to the Q3 2019 IrishJobs.ie Jobs Index.

The Index looks at the type of job vacancies listed on Jobs.ie and IrishJobs.ie in July, August, and September 2019.

When compared to the previous quarter, job vacancies were down 5%.

Among the sectors, the decrease in jobs available fell by 24% year-on-year, in science, pharmaceuticals and food. It also fell by 18% for medical professionals and healthcare and dropped by 1% for banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI).

Irishjobs.ie pointed to Brexit and the performance of EU markets, as having a negative impact on the Irish jobs market.

Jane Lorigan, CEO, Europe, Saongroup.com, which owns IrishJobs.ie, commented, "The longer uncertainty surrounds the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU and, by extension, Ireland, businesses and consumers will continue to delay important investments. This restricts the funding necessary to create new jobs, especially in the border region.”

“The Irish jobs market, while built on a strong, diversified foundation, appears to be plateauing after years of post-crash growth. This has not been helped by the cooling of trade relationships with the UK and, to some degree, the US as it follows its hardline stance on tariffs. EU markets remain sluggish, with Germany, the biggest, on the brink of recession,” Lorigan said. "To this end, we anticipate caution to be the prevailing mood among employers as we enter the new year."