In previous blog posts I covered core results from QNHS, sectoral decomposition of QNHS, public sector numbers, and on broader measures of unemployment. In this fifth post I will deal with occupational distribution of employment.
CSO reports seasonally unadjusted data for occupation distributions by 9 broader categories of workers. Thus, core comparatives should be performed on annual (y/y) basis, rather than quarterly.
In Q1 2012 there were 145,700 Managers, directors and senior officials employed in Ireland, representing 8.16% of total employment. Numbers employed in this occupation rose 4.37% y/y in Q1 2012, after posting a shallow 0.71% contraction y/y in Q1 2011 and growth of 3.15% y/y in Q1 2010. Between Q1 2008 and Q1 2012, numbers of Managers, directors and senior officials in employment in Ireland rose 2.10%.
In Q1 2012 there were 333,400 Professionals employed in Ireland, representing 18.67% of total employment. Numbers employed in this occupation fell 0.66% y/y in Q1 2012, after posting a slightly deeper 0.83% contraction y/y in Q1 2011 and growth of 3.93% y/y in Q1 2010. Between Q1 2008 and Q1 2012, numbers of Professionals in employment in Ireland rose 1.62%. So not sign of that MNCs-led jobs boom for professional category of employees, yet. In fact - none for 2 years in a row.
In Q1 2012 there were 215,500 Associate professional and technical staff employed in Ireland, representing 12.07% of total employment. Numbers employed in this occupation rose 2.81% y/y in Q1 2012, after posting a rise of 3.87% y/y in Q1 2011 and a decline of 2.66% y/y in Q1 2010. Between Q1 2008 and Q1 2012, numbers of Associate professional and technical grade workers in employment in Ireland rose 6.11%. Aha, this is, then the MNCs-jobs boom, except, sadly, it is happening at the lower end of wages distribution for higher-skilled, not at the top (Professional grade). Which, of course, begs a question: what sorts of jobs are being created in the sector?
In Q1 2012 there were 205,600 Administrative and secretarial staff employed in Ireland, representing 11.51% of total employment. Numbers employed in this occupation fell 7.55% y/y in Q1 2012, after posting a drop of 8.36% contraction y/y in Q1 2011 and a decline of 1.94% y/y in Q1 2010. Between Q1 2008 and Q1 2012, numbers of Administrative and secretarial staff in employment in Ireland fell a massive 19.02% making this category of employees the third hardest hit by the crisis.
In Q1 2012 there were 258,700 Skilled trades staff employed in Ireland, representing 14.48% of total employment. It is worth noting that these are skilled tradesmen and tradeswomen many of whom have substantial skills and can add significant value-added to the economy. Numbers employed in this occupation fell 1.71% y/y in Q1 2012, after posting much deeper drops of 10.11% and 18.10% y/y in Q1 2011 and Q1 2010, respectively. Between Q1 2008 and Q1 2012, numbers of Skilled trades staff in employment in Ireland fell a massive 39.46% making this category of employees the hardest hit by the crisis.
Chart below illustrates the above trends
Other categories are shown below:
Overall, classifying the categories of Professional and Associate professional and technical staff as 'knowledge economy'-related categories of employment, we have:
Per above, quarterly rise in the higher and specialist skills categories of employees has been significant in Q1 2012. However, given series volatility and lack of seasonal adjustments to data, y/y comparatives show that overall rise in Q1 2012 compared to Q1 2011 was just 0.68%, down on a rise of 0.93% in a year to Q1 2011 and 1.37% in a year to Q1 2010. In other words, although employment in the 'knowledge'-intensive occupations is rising, it is rising at much slower rate today than in previous years.
