More than half (53%) of Irish professionals plan on looking for a new job in the first six months of this year, reports The Irish Times, citing research from Morgan McKinley. While 53% of professionals are planning to look for a new job in the first half of the year, 54% of employers think they will lose staff over the same period due to higher earning potential elsewhere. Morgan McKinley said the Irish data shows employers will be more cautious around salary increases this year with pay rises likely to be as much as 5% across a range of sectors. There will be exceptions for the most niche and in-demand positions where salary increases could range between 10-15%. Meanwhile, 57% of employees think they will receive a salary increase this year.

Trayc Keevans, global FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) director at Morgan McKinley Ireland, said businesses now ‘seem to be rebalancing’. “Wages have rocketed in recent years by margins that appear unsustainable,” Keevans said. “In order to maintain profitability in a highly inflationary environment, businesses need to keep their costs down and a key way of doing this is by limiting salary increases.”