Ireland ranks second in Europe for both hybrid and remote work opportunities, according to new data published by LinkedIn.

More than a third (37.7%) of jobs listings in Ireland are for hybrid positions that allow successful applicants to split time between home and other office, while a further 8.4% are fully remote.

The study found that demand for flexible roles continues to outstrip supply, especially as the number of hybrid and remote positions available declines year-on-year with more staff returning to the office.

As a result, there are high levels of competition for these roles, with remote positions in Ireland attracting 2.5x the share of applications compared to the amount of positions available.

The level of paid job postings in Ireland offering hybrid working arrangements has declined 10.5% year-on-year, and the number of remote positions decreased by 7.7% over the same period.

Hiring rates also continue to lag pre-pandemic levels in Ireland, although there are signs of stabilisation, indicating that employers are more cautious about hiring and employees are staying in their current position for longer.

Despite challenging conditions in recent times in the technology sector, hiring has begun to stabilise, with a +6.8% annual increase in the LinkedIn Hiring Rate during June, an improvement to the hiring deceleration seen throughout 2023, which at its lowest point saw a fall of -57.2% year-on-year in May 2023.

“Flexible work options continue to be highly attractive for Irish professionals, with demand for remote roles proving to be highly competitive judging by the disproportionate amount of applications they attract," said Sue Duke, country manager of LinkedIn Ireland.

"Highlighting what level of flexibility is available at a company as part of the hiring process is a key tool in attracting talent in what is a very tight jobs market in Ireland. 

“While hiring rates continue to lag behind the buoyant levels of what we saw pre-pandemic, we are seeing some green shoots, with some industries like the tech sector beginning to stabilise. This is a positive sign that the turbulence that we have seen in the sector has begun to level out, with some employers back on a positive footing.” 

LinkedIn measured the hiring rate for each country by dividing the number of hires by the membership in each territory. Ireland, the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, France and Germany were included in the study.

*This article was originally published on BusinessPlus.ie.