There was a 17% fall in advertised job vacancies last year, according to a new report from FRS Recruitment.

Increasing reliance on AI, rising business costs and the threat of US tariffs were among the reasons for the decline, the research found.

The report concludes that in a bid to manage rising employment costs, many businesses invested in automation processes and AI solutions to fill job openings.

“Both trends mean certain jobs increasingly face the threat of becoming obsolete, including roles such as general engineering operatives, multi-lingual customer service in business support, and roles in accounts payable and accounts receivable,” the report found.

Job openings in IT continued to grow last year as companies continued their adoption of AI infrastructure and cloud transformation.

Among sectors particularly exposed to the threat of US tariffs, there was a 15% decline in job postings in agri-food and a 40% fall in accounting and finance.

The report found a continued rise in tensions between employers and staff over return to office policies with a significant uptick last year of companies offering new positions that were strictly office-based.

“This contrast between employee desires for flexible working and companies seeking to enforce return-to-office policies meant many positions went unfilled last year,” according to the report.

FRS Recruitment is forecasting that the Irish jobs market will rebound in 2026.

“With a tariff agreement now in place, there is much more trading certainty for businesses, and I would expect to see a rebound in the jobs market for 2026,” said Lynne McCormack, General Manager of FRS Recruitment.

“In the final quarter of 2025, FRS Recruitment saw a resurgence in the number of jobs postings across the market, and I believe that trend will continue into the first half of this year.

“Overall, Ireland’s economy continues to grow, and the labour market remains tight, meaning companies will need to compete for talent.

“It’s also likely we will continue to see trends around investment in AI technology and automation continue this year, as well as increased focused by employers on return to office policies,” Ms McCormack said.