TWO major surveys have pointed to improved conditions for job seekers in Northern Ireland.
Recruitment firm Manpower found employer confidence in the north to be on the rise with employment outlook sitting at 2 per cent over the last quarter.
The survey asks whether employers intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in the coming quarter.
The north still lagged behind the UK as a whole which had a 6 per cent outlook on average.
However, another report found Northern Ireland among the best places for those seeking flexible hours.
Research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found hours were more flexible outside of London but warned the UK was facing a jobs 'bottleneck' with just 6.2 per cent of quality vacancies mentioned flexible options.
Manpower said the jobs outlook in the north was "moving in the right direction".
However, operations manager Amanda White said problems could still lie ahead.
"However, with more jobs coming onto the market, this has shone a spotlight on the limited volumes of suitable candidates and an impending skills shortage," she said.
"In some areas, such as engineering, we are finding it more difficult to attract suitable talent.
We are also seeing a marked rise in demand in the hospitality and tourism sector, due in part to a number of newly-built hotels in the Belfast area. This has attracted increasing numbers of candidates aged 16-24 years old who are looking to get a first foot on the jobs ladder".
Ms White also said there was a trend in more candidates negotiating harder for salaries.
Employers are increasingly coming to us to make sure that the pay and benefits they have on offer are enough to secure the best candidates as the market picks up," she said.
"When a candidate has a number of offers on the table, money talks, so employers want to make sure that the packages they are offering talk the loudest. We are increasingly carrying out salary benchmarking exercises and advising on pay, as well as helping to fill roles.
Meanwhile, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said its research, carried out by Timewise, said those seeking flexible working conditions were being "locked out of chances to progress".
It said there was "only a handful" of new jobs coming to the market that offer both decent salaries and the opportunity to work flexibly.
However, it found flexible opportunities were better outside London with the greatest opportunities in Northern Ireland, Scotland and the north of England.
Timewise CEO Karen Mattison said: The world of work has experienced a revolution technology advances and recent legislations have facilitated a huge growth in flexible working, yet this has not been reflected in hiring practices.
"Businesses are missing out, as they consistently fail to realise just how important flexibility is to people looking for a new role. This often results in the best talent having to trade down, and take jobs way beneath their level of skill and ability.
