National Survey of Vacancies in the Private (Non ... - Forfás

INCIDENCE AND LEVELS OF CURRENT VACANCIES 29
Table 4.5: Distribution of Firms According to (a) Number of Current Vacancies and (b) Vacancies as a
Percentage of Current Workforce
(a)
Number of
Current Vacancies
Per Cent
of
Firms
(b)
Vacancies as a
Percent of Workforce
Per Cent
of
Firms
0 78.4 0 78.4
1 9.7 LT5 3.2
2 4.3 5–LT10 1.7
3 1.7 10–LT20 4.8
4–5 2.9 20–LT30 3.1
6–10 2.1 30–LT40 2.5
10–20 0.5 40–LT50 1.3
21+ 0.4 50–LT75 3.3
75+ 1.7
Total 100.0 Total 100.0
4.2.2 CHANGES IN VACANCIES IN THE LAST TWELVE MONTHS
In the previous section we saw that the survey estimates indicate that there
are 40,000 vacancies representing a vacancy rate of 3 per cent i.e. 3 per cent
of the total labour requirement is not being met. It is clearly of interest to
consider how these figures have changed over the period since the previous
survey. Tables 4.6 and 4.7 provide comparative figures on various aspects of
vacancy levels over the three rounds of the survey in 1998/99, 1999/00, and
2001/02.
Table 4.6 provides a comparison of vacancies at a broad sectoral level in
2001/02 as compared with those derived from the 1998/99 and 1999/00
rounds of the survey. In aggregate terms, the estimated number of vacancies
rose from 64,700 in 1998/99 to 77,600 in 1999/00 and then fell to 40,000 in
2001/02. This represents a fall in vacancies of some 37,600 or nearly 50 per
cent between 1999/00 and 2001/02. One can see that the number of
vacancies fell in all sectors but the largest declines occurred in
Transport/Personal/Other Services where the number of jobs available fell
from 25,200 in 1999/00 to 9,400 in 2001/02.
Table 4.6: Comparison of Vacancy Levels and Rates in 1998/1999, 1999/2000 and 2001/2002
Sector 1998/99 Survey 1999/00 Survey 2001/02 Survey
Total
Number
Vacancies
Vacancy
Rate
Total
Number
Vacancies
Vacancy
Rate
Total
Number
Vacancies
Vacancy
Rate
Traditional Manufacturing 9,000 6 7,200 5 3,000 2
Hi-Tech. Manufacturing 9,600 5 8,300 4 3,700 2
Construction 5,700 6 13,700 11 8,600 6
Distributive Services 13,600 6 12,200 5 7,700 3
Finance/Insurance/Business
Services 7,800 5 11,000 6 7,700 4
Transport/Personal/Other 19,000 6 25,200 7 9,400 3
All Firms 64,700 5.8 77,600 6.4 40,000 3.3
Total
Number
Change 1999/00 – 2001/02
Vacancy
Rate
Per Cent
Change
Percentage
Point
Change
Traditional Manufacturing -4,300 -57.2 -3
Hi-Tech. Manufacturing -4,600 -53.8 -2
Construction -5,100 -45.7 -5
Distributive Services -4,500 -37.0 -2
Finance/Insurance/Business
Services -3,300 -38.7 -2
Transport/Personal/Other -15,800 -60.3 -4
All Firms -37,600 -48.9 -3