17.5% of postings indicated remote or hybrid work, which is more than four times the rate seen before the Covid epidemic, according to Indeed's Jobs & Hiring Trends Report.

This indicates that job flexibility is still a crucial component of hiring talent in the current competitive labour market, where unemployment is still well below 5%, even in the face of certain high-profile return-to-office requirements at several corporations.

Software development, insurance, and media & communications have the largest percentage of remote or hybrid job advertising.

Indeed reports that pay growth in December was 4.6% year over year, after consistently growing at a rate of 4% or higher since the beginning of 2024.

This is higher than the 3.3% average for the euro area. Overall job posts have steadily decreased but are still 19% higher than the baseline after reaching a peak in 2022 that more than doubled their pre-pandemic level. Indeed claims that "the level of postings has remained relatively stable since mid-2024."

During 2024, the average percentage of outsider searches for Irish jobs on Indeed reached 13%, the highest level since 2017.

Agriculture, home health and personal care, civil engineering, and medicine and surgery are the professions with the largest percentages of international interest. Engineering, technology, professional, and agricultural occupations are among the most difficult to fill, according to the research.

Although generative AI-specific jobs are uncommon, they are expanding quickly and can be found in a variety of fields, such as software development and data analysis.

Jack Kennedy, Senior Economist at Indeed and author of the Trends Report, stated, "The Irish labour market is resilient and, for the time being at least, looks on course to remain so in 2025, despite global uncertainty."

"For jobseekers, that means they retain leverage when it comes to pay and benefits, as evidenced by robust wage growth and employers continuing to offer flexibility."

"Both pay and benefits remain important from an employers' perspective not only in attracting talent but also for retaining existing staff, who may be difficult to replace given the tightness of the market and long-standing skill shortages in certain occupations," added Kennedy.

"Considering international candidates may be one way forward for employers looking to hire," he stated.