There is a shortage of good quality candidates in Ireland at the moment. While that may sound like rather a bold statement, it is one with which all recruiters agree.

"The market is very tight at the moment and I can't see things changing," says Peter Keenen, chief executive of recruitment consultancy Parc, which has on average between 400 and 500 Irish jobs on its books at any one time. "Things will continue like this into 2006."

Fellow recruiter Louise Kelly, managing director at Robert Walters in Dublin, is of the same opinion, believing that the shortage of candidates seen this year will continue next year.

"2005 has been an extremely positive year for employment, with a steady increase in the number of both permanent and temporary contracts filled in comparison to 2004," says Kelly.

"There has been high demand from employers for skilled staff across several sectors and an increasing competition amongst companies to attract and retain the best talent in the market."

According to Frank Collins, president of the National Recruitment Federation, a busy recruitment market goes hand in hand with a growing economy. When economies are growing at a rate of 2, 3 or 4 per cent, the recruitment market tends to be very buoyant, he says, a trend that bodes well for the Republic, which is expected to grow at more than 4 per cent next year. "In a buoyant economy, there are more new jobs created and the sentiment is better, so people are more prepared to take the jump and move jobs," says Collins.

While the latest Government statistics show that the number of people claiming unemployment benefit increased slightly last month, employment still remains high, with the number of people on the seasonally adjusted live register at just 157,700, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The standardised unemployment rate in November was 4.3 per cent. This compares with 4.2 per cent in January. According to the latest Quarterly National Household Survey for the period from June to August, employment grew by 5 per cent year-on-year, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3 per cent.

Shortages were evident in all sectors for the whole of the year, according to recruiters, though some areas struggled more than others to fill positions. The financial services sector in particular has seen a huge increase in demand for talent this year and there's no sign of any let up, according to Keenen.

"Generally, it's very, very hot across the board and the market is very tight," he says. "But if I had to pick out the busiest areas I'd say it's financial services and construction."

The only sector to have seen any slowdown is manufacturing.

With more than 50,000 people directly employed in the financial services sector as a whole and a further 25,000 workers indirectly employed in support services, it's not surprising the demand for staff is high.

According to Kelly, demand is highest for candidates with good exposure to new financial products and those with experience working in large corporate organisations.

An increased emphasis on compliance throughout the financial services sector has also led to a surge in demand for qualified accountants, one that recruiters believe will remain high in the future.

The challenge now facing the sector is how to find enough appropriately qualified people to cope with the large increase in demand.

According to Marcus Kelly, managing director of Dublin-based recruiter FK International, companies are having to look outside of Ireland to fill some positions.

"Employers are thinking a lot more about taking employees from the accession states, particularly in accounting and the back office," he says, adding that this is a trend that has only developed in the second half of the year.

Collins says that while at the beginning of this year one or two recruiters opened offices overseas in a bid to tap into the market for foreign workers, now many are taking on migrant workers in their own Irish offices to encourage people already in the country to work for them.

"The trend to use migrant workers in the Irish market is a new one, but one that I expect to keep on growing," says Collins. "The fact is, we need them."

According to the latest figures from the CSO, a record 70,000 people entered the Republic in the 12 months to April, reversing the trend in what has traditionally been a country of emigration.

Some forecasts suggest that without an increased influx of so-called migrant workers, the economy will struggle to remain as buoyant as it is now. Moreover, a report released earlier this year by Forfás said that Europe alone won't be able to fulfil the Republic's requirement for highly-skilled workers in the future.

To this end, the number of Australians and New Zealanders wanting to work in Ireland may help. According to Louise Kelly, the mobility of staff between Ireland, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa is especially strong.

"Traditionally, employers were reluctant to employ people without local market experience, but they are increasingly recognising that these highly-skilled individuals are worth taking on for the duration of their working holiday visa," she says.

In order to keep attracting highly qualified staff from both within and outside Ireland, employers are having to become more innovative, says Kelly.

While pay rises have held steady at an average of about 4 per cent, according to Keenan, it's the counter offers that have been the most eye-opening. He says that it's "amazing" the lengths companies will go to to retain good staff.

All in all, Ireland is without doubt an employee's market at the moment. Recruiters agree that while pay is an important factor for candidates deciding whether to take on a new position, work-life balance is becoming more important.

Employers are having to evaluate the overall package that they are offering to employees, ensuring pension provision, healthcare and some sort of performance-related bonus or profit-share scheme are available to attract and keep the best staff.

Looking to 2006, things don't look set to change greatly. Financial services will likely remain the buzzword in the recruitment sector and competition for the best staff in this area will be tight.

So if all you want for Christmas is a new job, then you may be in luck.