Carlow bucks Ireland's slowdown as vacancies in local jobs market almost doubles

The jobs market in Carlow saw a meteoric 92% rise in the number of advertised vacancies during 2025, bucking the national trend where the overall jobs market in Ireland suffered a double-digit decline last year.

That is according to the 2025 Review & 2026 Trends Forecast report from FRS Recruitment, the winners of the Employment and Recruitment Federation’s Large Agency of the Year award for 2025.

While employers in most parts of the country took a cautious approach to hiring in the face of rising costs and geopolitical uncertainty, including the trade tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump, Carlow recorded a strong uplift in job opportunities.

The report says this was driven by continued demand across manufacturing, agri-services and engineering roles, with the county’s position as an accessible regional hub making it attractive to employers seeking cost-effective alternatives to larger cities.

Nationally, the picture was far less positive, with the overall Irish jobs market seeing a 17% year-on-year decline in 2025. However, FRS Recruitment is forecasting that the market will rebound in 2026, with Carlow expected to remain ahead of the curve.

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A survey of Carlow-based recruiters shows they are expecting a further 8% increase in job opportunities in the county this year, compared to an estimated 6% increase across the rest of the country, following a revival in hiring activity in the final quarter of 2025.

The report also highlights how businesses across Ireland focused on cost containment last year by delaying permanent hires, expanding existing roles internally and investing in automation and artificial intelligence to fill job openings.

Temporary and contract roles also surged, with a 40% increase in temporary jobs across the Irish market in 2025, as companies looked for more flexible and cost-effective staffing solutions.

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Speaking on the report, Lynne McCormack, General Manager of FRS Recruitment, said: “2025 was a challenging year for the Irish jobs market, with multiple headwinds creating a lot of uncertainty for companies to deal with.

“Despite the difficulties faced by employers across the country last year, Carlow bucked the national trend with a strong increase in the number of new jobs advertised in the county.

“With a tariff agreement now in place between the EU and the US, there is much more trading certainty for businesses heading into 2026, and I would expect to see a rebound in the jobs market this year.”