A new report by the employers body IBEC claims 2012 is likely to be the last year of falling employment in this country.

The Jobs Report shows that 20,000 new jobs were announced during the first 10 months of this year.

Meanwhile a separate report – The Morgan-McKinley Irish Employment Monitor – shows a 4% rise in the number of new professional jobs available now compared to a year ago.

It also shows:

• There was a month-on-month decline of 2% in the number of professional job vacancies.
• October 12 saw a 2% rise in the number of professionals entering the jobs market year-on-year.
• When compared to September 12, there was a minor increase (1%) in the volume of new professional job seekers

Employment stabilising

The number of new professional job opportunities from October 2011 to October 2012  increased from 8,353 to  8,686 respectively.

The number of jobs available compared to last month (8,851) remained relatively unchanged decreasing by 2%.

With regard to new professional job seekers entering the Irish market there was an insignificant increase of 1% from 10,225 in September 2012 to 10,295 in October/

The number of professionals seeking new career opportunities increased by 2% compared to the same month last year rising from 10,080 to 10,295.

Retta Suonpera is a senior economist at IBEC.

She says employment should stabilise from next year onwards although it varies from one sector to another.