Pay rises are stalling or slowing as employers trim costs and ease recruitment, recruitment group Morgan McKinley says in a new report. Employers have also slowed the rate at which they hire workers, according to Tracy Keevans, the firm’s global FDI director. Keevans said bigger employers’ slowdown in graduate recruitment benefited smaller businesses, which were able to hire more people with college degrees as a result. The firm’s report does not include building trades’ pay, but shows salaries paid to professional workers in the industry. In Cork, the same worker can also earn up to €90,000, while pay in other cities reaches €80,000, Morgan McKinley says.

Source: The Irish Times February 19, 2026 08:31 UTC