JOBS listings in the north fell by 63 per cent in March, with hospitality vacancies falling by 90 per cent, an online recruitment firm has said.
But the latest report by NIJobs.com and Ulster Bank has revealed that the number of healthcare vacancies increased by 50 per cent last month in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
It pushed the number job listings in healthcare above the IT sector for the first time since the local recruitment website started compiling the quarterly report.
Demand for workers in food production and food retail also increased.
But NIJobs.com said its listings reflected the impact Covid-19 has had on the hospitality and retail fashion sectors in particular.
Despite a fall in listings, the number of people searching for jobs online appeared to be up in March.
The recruitment website said searches using keywords “temporary” increased 85 per cent, while searches for “immediate start” rose by 46 per cent during March.
Ulster Bank economist Richard Ramsey said while Northern Ireland had ended 2019 with near record levels of employment, the labour market had already started to cool prior to the coronavirus crisis.
“The labour market is traditionally a lagging indicator of economic activity. But such is the speed and ferocity of the current downturn, the lag between falling output and job losses is unusually short. Where demand has fallen off a cliff, jobs have followed.”
He said while the official data won’t be available until June, the data from NIJobs.com reflected the changed mood in firms’ hiring intentions.
“Hospitality and retailing, wholesaling and purchasing were two employment categories with new lows in job listings. The quarterly data conceals the sheer speed and scale of the declines and listings in the drop that has occurred in March.”
Sam McIlveen of NIJobs.com said the impact of Covid-19 on recruitment was evident from the report.
“Our research is a barometer, reflecting this moment in time for the NI job market, it shows how the market is coping and responding to the current coronavirus outbreak.
“Sectors like hospitality, which contributes £1.1bn to the NI economy has frozen while others such as food retail, driving and logistics are experiencing increased consumer demand.”
