Tech sector cutting back on hiring in Q1, Manpower says

The information technology (IT) sector has “put the brakes” on hiring in the first quarter of 2023 following the period of lay-offs at Big Tech companies near the end of last year, a survey by recruitment agency ManpowerGroup has found.

Irish employers have entered a phase of cautious growth this year, it said, reporting a net national hiring outlook of 25 per cent, based on the responses of 410 employers. This is down three percentage points on the fourth quarter of 2022 and 22 points lower than the record start to the hiring outlook reported in the first quarter of last year.

All sectors remain positive – including the tech sector, where the net hiring outlook stands at 9 per cent. But employers paint a mixed picture, said ManpowerGroup Ireland managing director John Galvin, with hiring surging in Dublin-based finance sectors, but employers in the tech, hospitality and consumer goods sectors less optimistic.

Finance and real estate

The communication services sector is recording the strongest hiring intention in Ireland, followed by the finance and real estate sectors.

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“We’re seeing the communications industry go from strength to strength, and the finance sector continues to boom – both showing record hiring intentions. However, the previously booming tech sector is now much more cautious following a period of unprecedented hiring, impacted by lay-offs in Big Tech companies based in Dublin,” said Mr Galvin.

“Dublin is continuing to perform as a global centre of business activity,” he added.

“Despite a slight national decline and hit to the tech sector, Dublin remains buoyant – driven by the city’s booming finance industry which continues to see the benefits of international investment, and a burgeoning life-sciences sector which has accelerated hiring since last quarter.”

However, employers across the services sector are reining in their hiring plans, “particularly in rural parts of the country”, where business are less insulated from economic shocks.