It’s a costly business, being alive these days.

But as the cost of living crisis rumbles on, there is at least some positive developments happening on the jobs front.

New research shows that the majority of bosses in Ireland are planning pay increases in the coming year in an effort to hold onto their best staff.

According to the Excel Recruitment Employee Feedback Survey, 71 percent of employers say pay rises are definitely being considered, especially in industries currently experiencing staff shortages.

For instance, some of the biggest staff shortages in accounting and finance are in the junior office support roles:

“We have seen significant salary increases on this end with starting salaries between €26,000 and €28,000 today – which historically would have been around €23,000 to €25,000 pre-Covid,” said Barry Whelan, CEO of Excel Recruitment.

Wage growth has also been strong in the grocery retail sector, particularly amongst those working in fresh food.

“Deli specialists, bakers, and butchers are in highest demand,” said Mr. Whelan.

“The salary increases we have witnessed over 2022 closely reflect this. We have also seen an increase in demand across all entry-level management roles, and this, coupled with the increase in the minimum wage, have led to an upwards spike in these salaries as well.”

“Much like last year, candidate shortages have impacted the warehousing and industrial sector and this, coupled with the cost-of-living crisis drove salaries upwards across the board.”

There has also been a real shortage of candidates at operative level due to low unemployment rates – as well as the lack of migrant workers choosing Ireland.

“We have also seen a real shortage of experienced forklift drivers, and this has led to hourly pay rates increasing from between €12 and €13 to between €14 and €16,” he added.

The ‘Great Resignation’ is still causing headaches

“Towards the latter part of 2022, we saw staff shortages and increased employee expectations forcing employers to loosen their purse strings – with starting salaries shooting up by an extra €5,000 in certain sectors,” said Barry Whelan, CEO of Excel Recruitment.

“Going into 2022, marketing executive salaries started at €30,000 but now we rarely place a candidate for less than €35,000. The salaries of sales business developers typically started at €35,000 but now it’s closer to €40,000.

“The sales and marketing jobs we are seeing the most demand for are marketing managers and e-commerce managers – where average salary bands are now between €55,000 and €70,000 – and most candidates are having up to five interviews.”

Whelan says the ‘Great Resignation’ of 2022 has massively affected employers, especially when organisations urged workers to return to their respective offices:

“It led to companies increasingly having open positions, which caused disruptions in their daily operations,” he explained.

“The remaining employees needed to compensate for the lack of manpower leading to immense workloads and also driving employee burnout which affected their overall performance and productivity.

“As well as driving up wages, high employee expectations are forcing more employers to offer a hybrid working option. The desire for remote work and the ease of applying for new roles in a remote setting will continue to drive churn in the labour market.

“Where possible, hybrid working models were introduced across most industries and have become an expectation rather than a benefit.”