Redundancies in Ireland’s financial sector have become a regular fixture of the past three years, but in a sign that confidence is returning to the job market, HR professionals are more concerned with attracting and retaining staff than letting them go.

Ireland’s financial sector is in the relatively unique position globally of having a stronger 2011 than the preceding year, despite a slowdown in the final quarter, and this new found sense of vague optimism is reflected in the attitudes of recruitment professionals.

In a survey of over 500 HR professionals working in Ireland’s financial sector, recruitment firm Morgan McKinley has suggested that their biggest concern for 2012 is attracting talent, followed by keeping hold of their existing staff. Just 4% cited handling redundancies as a concern as the chart below shows.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that jobs are going to be plentiful this year. The majority (60%) of new positions created in the Ireland’s financial sector are temporary, suggests Morgan McKinley, which chimes with research from Brightwater released recently.

Morgan McKinley has also released its salary survey, and here are some of the key figures in financial services: