Economy

High-profile redundancies steadied ‘overheated’ labour market - Grant Thornton partner

Michael McAteer says employee priorities have shifted from pay rises to job security in the face of severe cuts

Michael McAteer, managing partner in Grant Thornton Ireland: “If you go back 12 months ago, there was a real frothiness in the jobs market. It was almost overheating it was that frothy. I think the heat has now gone.” Picture: Conor McCabe

The Irish labour market is no longer “overheating” and is returning to normal, the head of professional services firm Grant Thornton has said.

Michael McAteer, managing partner in Grant Thornton Ireland, said the priority for most Irish workers was now about job security rather than moving to secure a wage increase.

“If you go back 12 months ago, there was a real frothiness in the jobs market. It was almost overheating it was that frothy. I think the heat has now gone out of the jobs market. It’s still very strong and the market is tight, but it’s started to normalise over recent months,” McAteer told the Business Post.