Recruiters for the healthcare sector placed 2 per cent fewer advertisements in national newspapers in the year through November, Bank of Ireland Business Banking said.
One of the biggest losses for the industry this year was Hospira's announcement that it would cut 560 jobs by closing its medical devices plant in Donegal town.
The company is moving production to Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, where costs are lower.
Alcon said in May it would invest up to €15.6 million on expanding its operation at the IDA Ireland Business and Technology Park in Cork city.
Alcon said that it would add up to 140 "high-quality" jobs over five years by increasing the size of its Cork facility, which already employs more than 80 people.The investment will make the Cork plant the first site outside the US to make Alcon's prosthetic lens, which replaces the eye's natural lens following cataract surgery.
The pharmaceutical industry accounts for about 40 per cent of Ireland's manufacturing exports and employs about 17,000 people directly, according to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The sector was the largest contributor of corporation tax in Ireland in 2003.
