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The most highly sought professionals will pick up pay rises worth 15pc as the number of people at work pushes close to its pre-recession peak.

Research reveals employees’ prospects are finally back on track with jobs and pay on the up following years of instability.

There are now approximately 2.2 million people at work, close to the 2007 high, according to the Central Statistics Office.

The data was released as a survey showed that most professional workers can expect modest 3pc pay rises this year.

But those with in-demand skills – including chief security officers and cyber-security experts in IT, product counsel in the legal sphere and chief risk officers in banking – can command wage hikes between 10pc and 15pc.

Employment agency Morgan McKinley predicted strong job creation this year.

Its 2018 Irish Salary and Benefits Guide revealed that advance process engineering, autonomous drive technology and cyber-security are among the areas tipped to expand further this year.

Chief operations officer Karen O’Flaherty said last year was strong for job growth for professionals, as close to 40,000 posts were created. Ms O’Flaherty said the forecast for this year remained positive and the number of permanent jobs was predicted to rise.

The survey showed salaries for permanent staff in banking and stockbroking range from €50,000 to €75,000 for a wealth manager with up to three years’ experience.

With more than five years’ experience, their wages soar to up to €150,000. Traders with more than five years can also expect to earn up to €150,000.

Branch managers in retail banks earn up to €90,000 in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, but not more than €70,000 in Waterford.

Employment was up 2.2pc, or 48,100 to 2.21 million, in 2017 to the end of September. The peak was just under the 2.24 million recorded in the final months of 2007.

That compares with a low of 1.875 million in 2012.

The unemployment rate remained at 6.7pc over the quarter, while the number of people out of work for a year or more is now about 40pc of total unemployment. That is the lowest since the end of 2009.

The CSO has revised how it publishes the labour force data to take account of the 2016 Census and other methodological changes. As a result, there are both more people employed and unemployed than initially thought.

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