Chefs, child carers, engineers and construction workers are the among the Republic's most sought after employees, a new study has found.

However, there is no evidence of a widespread recruitment shortfall on a par with that of the late 1990s, the study by FÁS and the Economic & Social Research Institute (ESRI) says.

Demand for staff in services and construction is healthy but retailing remains flat, the quarterly report on employment and vacancies shows.

Across all sectors, 11 per cent of companies report vacancies, although there is a wide degree of variation. This compares to the 33 per cent vacancy level reported in a same survey in 1997.

However, there is evidence of growing demand for staff since the beginning of the year.

In the first two months of 2004, 50 per cent of firms with vacancies said they were hard to fill but by the end of the opening quarter this had risen to 63 per cent.

One in five building companies have positions available, which almost all are struggling to fill, says the study. The services sector also has shortfalls, though not of the same order.

Demand was strongest for chefs, childcare professionals, engineers and building workers, said the ESRI.

The construction boom is attributed in part to record rates of house completions, but there is also evidence of growing demand for repair and improvement work as higher property prices encourage home owners to build extensions rather than trading up.

ESRI economist Prof Gerry Hughes, the author of the report, said that while employment is set to rise, the economy is not expected to overheat.

He said: "There is no evidence of a skills shortage in the economy at present. On balance... the percentage of firms reporting vacancies at the end of the first quarter of 2004 is indicative of a labour market in which vacancies are arising mainly due to normal labour turnover rather than to serious shortages of labour at existing rates of pay."

Improved economic conditions have brought increased optimism across most sectors - with retail the notable exception, finds the study.

This marks a stark change in sentiment since late last year, when the net employment expectations index showed 10 per cent more firms believed employment would fall rather than increase. The index now reveals 1 per cent more employers anticipate a rise in recruitment in the next quarter.