Majority of employers using AI in recruitment as adoption accelerates
Nearly eight in 10 employers in Ireland are using AI in the hiring process according to a report from IrishJobs.
This year’s Hiring Efficiency survey gathered insights from 475 recruiters and 824 jobseekers in Ireland, to identify changing attitudes and actions on hiring processes in a fast-evolving labour market.
The survey revealed that 78% of recruiters in Ireland are using AI at some point in their recruitment process to enhance productivity. Adoption of AI among recruiters has increased by 50 percentage points over the past 12 months. Just over one quarter (28%) of employers reported using the technology in recruitment in August 2024, according to previous research by IrishJobs.
Recruiters in Germany, the UK, and Austria also took part in the research, with results indicating that Irish recruiters are following a similar trajectory to international HR professionals regarding the adoption of AI. More than half of employers in Germany (60%) use AI in their hiring processes, while 77% of recruiters in the UK reported using the technology to boost productivity and efficiency. In Austria, more than two-thirds of recruiters (66%) reported leveraging AI to support recruitment activities.
More than half (52%) of recruiters in Ireland report that manual administrative tasks take up too much time in their everyday role and slow down the hiring process. The use of AI tools and technology is having a direct impact on reducing the time spent on these tasks and streamlining the hiring process.
Writing and publishing job adverts (28%) was the top way in which recruiters are using AI to automate the recruitment process and enhance productivity. Reviewing job applications and CVs (23%) was the second most frequent use of AI among recruiters. This is followed by preparing and sending offer/contract documents (17%). Some 13% of employers are using AI technology to conduct interviews.
Despite the rapid growth in AI adoption, a sizable minority of recruiters remain uncertain about the adoption and implementation of the technology in operations. Almost one fifth (19%) of recruiters reported that their current IT systems did not support integration of AI tools.
The survey revealed several factors that are affecting hiring success, including the length of recruitment processes and the number of stakeholders involved. Almost a quarter (23%) of job candidates reported that there were too many steps involved in the hiring process and drop out before it is complete.
Christopher Paye, country director of The Stepstone Group Ireland with responsibility for IrishJobs, said: “The Irish economy is set to face a new period of elevated economic uncertainty over the coming months, prompted by the introduction of international trade tariffs. However, despite this heightened volatility, the outlook for the labour market remains positive, with Davy recently forecasting that the workforce will grow by 2-3% in 2025, while recent data from the CSO reported that the number of people employed in the state has risen above 2.8 million for the first time.
“This resilience will mean that many employers in Ireland continue to navigate a highly competitive market for talent and face skills shortages across various sectors… With more than half of recruiters struggling with time-intensive manual and administrative tasks, AI is having a positive impact in enabling them to reduce the time spent on such tasks, enhance efficiency and increase the pace of successful hiring. The technology is also playing an important part in enhancing the candidate experience during the recruitment process. With many job candidates dissatisfied with lengthy hiring processes, AI is helping recruiters to streamline their processes and identify the right candidates for roles more quickly.”
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