Job vacancies in Ireland grew 7% year-on-year in the second quarter when compared to the same period last year, according to the latest vacancies index from IrishJobs.ie.

The index also showed that while job vacancies grew nationally, border counties were at risk of economic decline.

In the second quarter of 2018, job vacancies in the border county of Cavan dropped by 27% year-on-year, and in neighbouring Leitrim, vacancies dropped by 17% year-on-year.

"The Border region has always been economically peripheral relative to the rest of the country," IrishJobs.ie general manager Orla Moran, said.

“Continued failure to address under-development in the border region could trigger a cascade effect, whereby businesses and professionals take flight to more lucrative parts of the country—essentially a ‘brain drain’,” Moran told the Irish Examiner. “"This would cause long-term damage to the region that would be difficult to reverse.”

Moran added that continued uncertainty surrounding Brexit and what it will mean for the border region is also having an impact.

While the border region has by far the lowest unemployment rate at 4.4%, Moran told the Irish Independent that few new opportunities are being created in the border area.

“We still do not know under what conditions businesses in the Republic of Ireland will be able to trade with or sell to businesses and consumers in Britain or even in Northern Ireland,” Moran said.

Meanwhile, hotel and catering jobs dominated vacancies in Q2 2018 with 27% of all vacancies, while accountancy and the finance sector made up 6%.