The supply and demand of various types of profesionals  (e.g. software programmers, architects) matters hugely to almost everybody. An oversupply of specific groups of qualified professionals can lead to unemployment. A shortage can hold back corporate and economic growth. That is why is it possible to find many sources of accurate, statistical information to help you understand the current state of the job (“labour”) market in any country, region, sector or profession. This information in known as “Labour Market Information/Intelligence” (LMI). 

Labour market intelligence is information about the labour (job) market that has been analysed and interpreted before presenting it to the public. The information presented might include:  

• Trends including employment and earnings outlooks by sector at national/regional level  
• Skills needs, gaps and shortages and current and future skills demands  
• Occupational information including entry requirements (educational and skill/attribute)  
• Current and future job market demands for occupations/careers  

Reviewing existing LMI for your target role or region can also help you to determine if a post-COVID-19 slump in job vacancies is likely to be a short-term or longer-term trend. 

Labour market information can inform and empower our decision making. However, there is a risk that the volume (and sometimes presentation) of information can also be overwhelming and confusing.  

Here are some questions to ask yourself when reviewing sources of LMI:  

• Is this information up to date?  
• Did significant events/change take place since publication? (e.g. Covid19 Pandemic)  
• Is there reason to believe that the observed trend will continue or reverse in the near future?  (Some trends can be cyclical - in some sectors as a surplus of professionals can become a shortages 5-6 years depending on economy and public investment, e.g. Construction)  
• Is the information relevant to your country and region?  
• How objective is the information? (Who produced it? Does the author have an agenda?)  This isn’t such an issue for LMI from independent, established bodies (e.g. Skills Ireland). Private organisations or those representing a sector/industry bodies be motivated to convey as particular message or perspective. The information can still be useful but be aware of potential bias.  
• LMI is just one factor of your overall career decision making, along with your interest, values, skills and motivations.  Career decisions should not be made, or options of interest eliminated, based on LMI alone. 
• Consult a careers advisor for guidance if LMI data confuses or concerns you, to help you to make sense of what you are reading.  

Skills Panorama turns labour market data into accurate and timely intelligence to offer new insights into skill needs in the European Union. A special new section has been created to address the unprecedented and unexpected impact of the pandemic on the job market.  

Indeed is a top global jobs site with 250 million unique visitors. The Indeed Hiring Lab produces regular updates on global labour market trends using their proprietary data and publicly available sources.  Indeed Hiring Lab UK includes data on the Irish job market. For example, an article produced on the 22nd of July 2021 shows that: Job postings — a real-time measure of labour market activity — were 17.5% above the 1 February, 2020, pre-pandemic baseline as of 16 July, 2021. 

LinkedIn is one of the largest professional networks and LinkedIn’s Economic Graph benchmarks and compares labour markets across the world by analysing skills, occupations, and industries, leveraging real-time data. From your perspective as a final year student LinkedIn’s Economic Graph  can provide you with on-the-pulse information on the sectors and countries with the most opportunities. You can also stay one step ahead with the “Future of Work” section that provides engaging reports on the likely impact of significant trends such Artificial Intelligence on the international job market.   

Skills Ireland  

Ireland – current and future skills needs 

In Ireland, an “Expert Group on Future Skills Needs” advises the Irish Government on current and future skills needs of the economy and on other labour market issues that impact on Ireland’s enterprise and employment growth. This expert group produce both long term general and sectoral reports. As that compare the number of vacancies in each sector with the availability of qualified candidates. This information helps the Government to identify shortages and develop appropriate responses to meet demand (e.g. upskilling programmes) 

National Skills Council - Regional Skills  

Ireland – regional skills needs 

In recent years, a National Skills Council was established in Ireland and 9 regional fora for employers and the education and training system to work together to meet the emerging skills needs of their regions. If you are keen to gain employment in a particular region in Ireland, you may want to have a look at how the job market looks in that region by reviewing the snapshots provided by the relevant forum.    

Many of the courses are delivered to learners through Regional Skills initiatives are delivered to learners through their employers. Many of these courses are delivered online through e-College, a large repository of online courses endorses by SOLAS, the agency with responsibility for further education and training in Ireland.   

In response to Covid19  courses on E-College are now available for free to all!

The European Centre of the Development of Vocational Training) has developed a range of LMI tools to help people to explore options and alternatives in the world of work, and how to reach them. More long term, “future of work” in Europe projections, can be found by country, sector, occupation, and skills.  

Australia’s Labour Market Information Portal can help you navigate the Australian job market by providing you with national and regional employment trends and projection, workforce shortages, industry-specific data and recruitment insights straight from employers.  

Government of Canada Jobs Bank:  
Job Bank is Canada’s national employment service which offers users Canadian vacancies, LMI trends and outlooks, career planning tools that can match you with occupations based on interests, skills and preferred workplace activities. Highly user-friendly tool for any person interested in work in Canada. There is also a summer jobs section for young people.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics in the US provides a wealth of information on the labour market in the US. Career Outlook resources that provides detailed information on all careers, and ranks them according to level of demand, salary earned and career outlook. The Career Outlook resource also includes detailed career paths, interviews with professionals in each occupation and graphic representation of employment data for each occupation.