Professional jobseekers are being encouraged to develop their language skills in order to get ahead in the competitive market.

The latest Irish Employment Monitor shows a 4% drop in the number of professional jobs available in Ireland in the last month.

The figures also show that an extra 12% of professionals entered the market during that time.

It also shows that 23% more professionals are looking for work when compared to this time last year.

However the amount of jobs available since July 2011 has remained flat increasing by only 1%.

Karen O’Flaherty is Operations Director at Morgan McKinley.

She says being able to speak another language gives you a distinct advantage.