The recruitment index compiled by the Irish Management Institute has recorded a 28.4 per cent rise in the number of managerial posts advertised in the first quarter of 2004.

In the three months to the end of March 1,357 managerial positions at all levels were advertised.

Some 15 per cent of these jobs were at senior management level, a drop of 5 per cent one the last quarter of 2003.

Up to 66 per cent of all positions advertised were for jobs in the private sector.

IMI senior researcher Mr John Cullen said the index was a useful tool for managers who were looking at the jobs market either with a view to recruit or indeed who were considering a change of sector.

The results this quarter show that almost a quarter of the positions advertised were for general management-type jobs.

Dublin city and county represented 44 per cent of locations for all positions advertised.

The sectors which advertised most management positions were health, retail, construction, engineering, energy, tourism, leisure, hospitality and banking.

The IMI hopes that by producing this index on a continuing basis it can understand how changes in the Irish economy have an effect on the recruitment market for managers in all sectors.